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Google Tips and TricksSocial-Emotional Learning

Social Emotional Learning Activity Templates for Google Jamboard

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

Have you been looking for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) activities to make a part of your regular classroom routine? If so, I can’t think of a better way than to utilize Google Jamboard with some pre-made templates that you can share with your students.

Why SEL Matters

As we saw in this blog, it is important to bring SEL practices to your classroom. Some students might be feeling anxious; therefore, we want to create a safe space for learning. When students feel safe, they find it easier to learn. You can help build that safe space for learning by incorporating SEL in your teaching.

Google Jamboard

Jamboard is a digital whiteboard created by Google. You can create a jam and add up to 20 frames per jam. Students can brainstorm and share ideas with sticky notes, text, images, and more. In addition, jamboards can easily be assigned to students in Google Classroom.

You can get to Google Jamboard in several different ways. Usually, I just type jamboard.google.com in my browser, making sure, of course, that I am logged into my Google account first. Also, there is a Chrome app for Jamboard that helps with easy access.

SEL Jamboard Activities

The activities below allow you to check in on your students in a way that values and acknowledges their emotions in an engaging way. By taking part in these activities, students will gain self-awareness, develop relationship skills, and more. Assign them to students individually, in small groups, or as a whole class. Many of these activities were found on the awesome Jamboard Facebook groups. To make a copy of the jamboard, simply click on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner and scroll to Make a Copy. Make sure you are logged into your Google account first.

Sample SEL Jamboard Activities Include:

SEL
SEL Jamboard Templates
  • Checking In – It is important to check in with your students to see how they are doing. Ask you students to indicate how they are feeling with this activity.
  • Empathy Shoes – Ask you students to put themselves in another person’s shoes to perceive and interpret what another person is feeling or maybe even thinking.
  • Gratitude Jar – As we see in this blog, students who regularly express gratitude appreciate close relationships and feel better about their life and school. Ask your students what they are grateful for.
  • How Are You Feeling Rollercoaster –  Ask your students to add their name on a sticky note and place it on the spot on the rollercoaster that represents how they are feeling at the moment.
  • Kindness Challenge – Challenge your students to be kind. Have them list kind things they have done or will do.
  • Love Your SELFie – This activity will help students with their self-esteem and build their confidence.
  • Marshmallow Wellness – This activity focuses on your student’s well-being. Once students complete the wellness activity indicated on the marshmallow, they will move it into the hot chocolate. This jamboard was created by Karen Stepic.
  • Three Good Things – Take time and ask students to reflect on good things they have experienced. This activity will help students seek out and amplify positive feelings and experiences.
  • What Went Well? – This activity will show students that you care about them and will help you build and strengthen relationships with your them.
  • Worry Monster – Ask you students what they are worried about. Have them type their worries on a sticky note and feed it to the worry monster. This jamboard was created by Karen Stepic.

Get Jammin’

The great thing about these activities is that they can be revisited more than once, so get jammin’! If you would like to explore additional Social and Emotional skills, be sure to check out TCEA’s online, self-paced Social and Emotional online course. Priced at just $29, the course features seven modules designed to help your students understand their own self-awareness, build positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and more. Enroll today.

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Canva Dashboard
Canva

Exploring Canva Whiteboard as a Jamboard Alternative

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Wish you had an easy-to-use online whiteboard? With Google moving Jamboard to read-only mode on October 1, 2024, you may be seeking out an alternative. What digital, online whiteboard will you use with your students instead? If you are a “less is more” kind of person, you may be looking for easier tools to use than those suggested by Google (e.g., Figjam, LucidSpark, Miro). Let’s look at one you may want to know more about: Canva Whiteboard.

What is Canva Whiteboard?

Canva Dashboard

The simple-to-use Canva Whiteboard is already a part of the toolset you know and love in Canva. Canva Whiteboard offers a simple solution with powerful components, like built-in timers and more. Once you start using it, you may find yourself thanking Google for pushing you out of the Jamboard nest. Canva offers so many delightful features that are free to verified educators, and its whiteboard tool is a worthy replacement for Jamboard. Let’s walk through some of the Jamboard-compatible features Canva Whiteboard offers. Here’s a quick video overview:

Import Images or Presentations

Save your Google Jamboards as images for an easy upload to Canva Whiteboard. Or, upload any image file you’d like to use (keeping licensing and copyright in mind, of course)!

Google Jamboard content being saved as a PNG

Here’s one of my favorite activities as a Google Slide, the 3-2-1 activity (3 main ideas/words, 2 supporting details/phrases, and 1 question/quote). You can vary this activity in many ways! I can download it as an image and then upload it to my whiteboard in Canva for students to annotate. You can do this with any image you save or find.

Google Slides content being saved as a PNG
Save a Google Slide as an Image
Canva Whiteboard Image Upload
Upload Images to Canva

Get a few other Google Slides activities here that can be exported and use in an online whiteboard of your choice.

Yes, you can download presentations as PNG or image files and upload them to Canva, but wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to? In Canva Whiteboard, you can import a presentation straight from Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox and turn it into a whiteboard.

  1. Click the menu icon in the top left corner.
  2. Open Projects.
  3. Click Add New in the top right corner.
  4. Choose Import from app in the drop-down menu.
  5. Choose to import from Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox.
How to import presentations from an app in Canva

You can change it to a whiteboard in Canva by right-clicking a slide and choosing Expand to Whiteboard in the drop-down menu.

How to expland a Canva Presentation to a Whiteboard

Lock the Background

In Canva, like in Jamboard, you can lock the background. This ensures your students won’t be able to move the background around as they are using the whiteboard. Click the image and select the lock in the toolbar, or right-click the image and select the lock in the drop-down menu.

Canva lock background options
Lock an image from the Canva toolbar.

Canva image drop down menu
Lock an image from the image drop-down menu.

Duplicate a Page

Now that you have your whiteboard slide looking the way you want, you’re ready to duplicate it.

How to duplicate a page in Canva Whiteboard

When you present or share your screen, as you’ll see in a bit, these pages will become available as slides. Students can write on these slides with the Draw tools in Canva. And, since you locked the background, that should help keep certain elements unmoveable, as you can see below:

Canva Locked Background example

Additionally, you can see students working live in the document. This makes it easier to monitor progress.

Everything ready to go? Now, you can bring students into the equation to add comments and annotations. To share the Canva Whiteboard, use the Share button that appears in the top right corner of the screen.

Canva's share menu

As you can see in the image above, the “Can Comment” is enabled, but you will want to change that to Edit. Remember, you can also share a presentation in Canva for groups of students to work on!

Note: If whiteboard vandalism is a concern, then you can take a more limited approach. That is, you can share the link to a whiteboard with only that group of students or an individual student.

Share Your Whiteboard as a Template

If you’d like to share your whiteboards as editable templates with other educators, you can do so by clicking Share and then clicking the Template Link option. This makes sharing your whiteboard designs easy. The only catch? To edit the template, you need to have a Canva account. That’s not a bad thing for colleagues since Canva is free for educators and students.

Share options in Canva

When you click on the icon for the template link, you will see a link to copy:

Example template link

Here’s what sharing a whiteboard as a template link looks like. Try out this editable template of my 3-2-1 whiteboard!

Did You Know?

Canva offers a desktop app that will run on your computer. This means you can work on your computer (e.g. Windows/Mac) with Canva creations outside of your browser. Get the app.

Add Text and Content to a Whiteboard

Once your students have access to Canva Whiteboard via the Share link, they can do so much. I almost wish Canva Whiteboard offered a limited set of tools for their whiteboard or a toggle switch for the tools available to keep choices simple for younger students.

This video gives you a big-picture overview:

Like some of my colleagues, when I heard Jamboard was going away, I worried I wouldn’t find an easy-to-use replacement. Thank goodness Canva’s Whiteboard solution is available and ready to go! Here are a few more Canva Whiteboard videos to get your brain moving in the right direction:

Please share any resources or whiteboards you have created in the comments. We’d love to hear how you’re using Canva Whiteboards!

Featured Image: Screenshot by author, Canva Dashboard.

All images within this article are screenshots by the author.

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Good Teaching

Two Ready-to-Use “This, Not That” Jamboard Bellringers

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

To start off the 2022 school year, I designed five Jamboard bellringers to begin your school day. Out of all five bellringers, I received the most feedback and requests for answers to the “This, Not That” bellringer puzzles. I even had a couple of emails appealing for more. So, ask and you shall receive! I’ve made two new versions with 13 “This, Not That” puzzles each. 

Five Jamboard Bellringers to Start the School Day screenshot of linked blog article
Read Five Jamboard Bellringers to Start the Day

How does a “This, Not That” puzzle work? 

Each frame in the Jamboard bellringer gives five statements, and you have to figure out from those statements what a person likes. For example, let’s take Emily. 

  1. She likes minutes, not hours.
  2. She likes the Seven Dwarfs, but not Snow White.
  3. She likes poems, not novels
  4. She likes power naps, not dusk-to-dawn sleep.
  5. She likes skirts, not jeans.

If your reasoning led you to believe she likes things that are short, you nailed this bellringer! Here’s another example:

This, Not That Bellringer Frame

Sometimes these bellringer puzzles can be a little tricky. So teachers, if you do not have time to figure out the answers, email me at preimers@tcea.org, and I’ll send them to you!  

Five Steps to Making These Bellringers Yours

Step 1: Sign into your Google account.

Step 2: Click the link to the bellringer you’d like to access.

Image of the title frame of This, Not That Bellringer Edition 1
This, Not That- Edition 1
Image of the title frame of This, Not That Bellringer Edition 2
This, Not That- Edition 2

Step 3: When the page loads, click the “snowman” in the top right corner.

Step 4: Select “Make a copy” in the dropdown menu.

Jamboard Google Menu to make copy of bellringer

Step 5: Rename your copy.

Now, you’re ready to go!

Additional Tips

Have your students try their hand at creating a “This, Not That” puzzle. It is harder than it looks, and it really stretches the mind to create five statements.

If you need a different platform, I can provide the puzzles in a PPT or Google Slides version, just email me! 

Are “This, Not That” bellringer puzzles your thing? I’m working on a third edition, so stay tuned! 

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Back to SchoolGoogle Tips and TricksWeb 2.0 Tool

Five Jamboard Bellringers to Start the School Day

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

Jamboard is such a good tool for creating quick, interactive activities to warm up students’ brains at the beginning of class. I can’t think of a better time to jump into a Jamboard than when the morning school bell chimes. Here are five bellringers that you can copy and run with! 

1. For the Rest of Your Life

For the rest of your life

This bellringer will really get your students thinking about making a choice. Similar to “Would you rather…”, options include: 

  • If you could only have one utensil, would you choose a fork, knife, or spoon?
  • If you could visit only one landmark would you choose the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, or the Great Wall of China?
  • If you could eat only one fruit, would you choose an apple, banana, or orange? 
  • If you could eradicate a species of animal, would you choose alligators, snakes, or spiders?
  • Would you rather live in a skyscraper in a large city, a hut on the beach, or a castle in a foreign county? 
  • Would you rather only eat tacos, pizza, or hamburgers for every Saturday meal?

2. Picture of the Day Bellringers

Picture of the Day

Students will take a look at a picture and be challenged to consider what they see, what details they notice, and what they think is happening in the image with this bellringer. The Jamboard comes with a selection of post-it-notes that include the prompts:

I notice . . .

I wonder  . . .

This makes me think . . .

Photos include:

  • Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo
  • Snow scene
  • Breakfast time
  • The Girl and a Bubble
  • A Road in the Desert
  • The Crown Fountain in Chicago
  • A Maker Costume

3. Color Jam Bellringer

Color Jam Bellringer

Each slide is a different color. Students think of one item for each color (banana for yellow, sky for blue, etc.) and either type it on a sticky note or in a text box. For a challenge, see if they can come up with different items for each color without any duplicates.  When finished, they could also find an image to go along with the items they listed for an extended bellringer.

4. Quick Debates

Quick Debates Bellringer

Share one of the quick debate topics, and students can pick a position and defend their decision. It’s always interesting to hear the different arguments for and against! The 10 topics include:

  • Is a hotdog a sandwich?
  • Does a straw have one hole or two?
  • Is your thumb a finger?
  • Eat rice with a spoon or a fork?
  • Is chess a sport?
  • Should you eat ice cream in a cup or a cone?
  • Is cereal a soup?
  • Does a snake have a tail?
  • Is cheesecake a cake?
  • What is the correct way to put on socks and shoes? Sock, sock, shoe, shoe OR sock, shoe, sock, shoe.

5. This, Not That

This, Not That Bellringer

There are 12 “This, Not That” puzzles to choose from on this bellringer. How does this work? Each frame gives five statements and you have to figure out from those statements what a person likes. For example, let’s take Emily. 

  1. She likes minutes, not hours
  2. She likes the Seven Dwarfs, but not Snow White.
  3. She likes poems, not novels
  4. She likes power naps, not dusk to dawn sleeps.
  5. She likes skirts, not jeans.

If your reasoning led you to believe she likes things that are short – you are CORRECT! Sometimes these puzzles can be a little tricky. So teachers, if you do not have time to figure out the answer, email me at preimers@tcea.org, and I can send you the answers. 

I know that educators are always looking ideas for bellringers. Please feel free to drop a link or comment in the chat if you have any to add. Let’s ring that bell!

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robot
ChromebooksGoogle Tips and TricksMicrosoftMicrosoft Tips and Tricks

TCEA Responds: Convert Jamboards to Microsoft Whiteboard

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Dear TCEA Responds:

Is there a way to convert a Google Jamboard document to a Microsoft Whiteboard? Help!

Thanks in advance, Seliza

Dear Seliza,

Thanks so much for your fascinating question. Many of us find ourselves living in two or three different ecosystems. We do some of our work in Google Workspace for Education and some in Microsoft 365. Others even manage to get work done with Chromebooks in Microsoft 365 or using Google tools with Apple iPads.

In this particular case, it is possible to convert Google Jamboard documents, and when done, you’ll be able to use a Google Jamboard in a Microsoft Whiteboard. I will also explain how to bring Microsoft Whiteboard templates into Google’s Jamboard, in case you were curious.

What Are the Tools?

If you’re wondering, Microsoft Whiteboard is a digital whiteboard. You can use Microsoft Whiteboard in Microsoft Teams, too.

microsoft whiteboard

There are many whiteboard solutions available. Google Jamboard has become popular because it allows for collaboration and easy editing. Of course, Google Jamboard does limit you to 25 participants max at a time.

Want to learn more about Google Jamboard? What about get thousands of Jamboard templates? If that’s of interest, be sure to sign up for TCEA’s Google Jamboard online, self-paced course. You won’t regret it!

Microsoft Whiteboard comes with a host of templates you can use. Take a look at those before beginning the journey of converting a Jamboard. Of course, “converting” a Jamboard isn’t really accurate. Technically, you’re making a digital copy of the Jamboard as an image. This means that you can use image editors like Microsoft Paint or browser-based Kleki. These editors make it simple to make changes or adjustments. We’ll also go over some workarounds in Microsoft Whiteboard.

Steps for Converting a Jamboard to a Microsoft Whiteboard

Here’s the Jamboard I’ll be converting:

microsoft whiteboard

Copy this Jamboard Frame

Note: Many Jamboards begin as Google Slides or Drawings, so if you’re able to find and copy the original Slide or Drawing, you’ll be able to edit the contents. Once you import them into Jamboard, they serve as image backgrounds. That’s why Jamboard frames are harder to edit unless you are using a dedicated image editor. Some no-cost image editors you can use if you’d like to edit a Jamboard frame are:

Of course, there are many others. So remember, if you can’t get a copy of the Google Slide or Drawing that inspired Jamboard, use an image editor like the ones above.

Step #1: Save a Jamboard Frame as an Image.

Jamboard gives you the option to save a frame as an image. You can easily do that by clicking the three dots in the top right corner and selecting “Save frame as image” from the drop-down menu.

microsoft whiteboard

Step #2: Open Microsoft Whiteboard.

You can open Microsoft Whiteboard online. Once you have it open, click the plus sign to create a new whiteboard.

microsoft whiteboard

Step #3: Import the Jamboard Image Frame.

Once you have a new Whiteboard document created, click on the images icon which will allow you to import any image you want so long as it is a JPG, PNG, GIF, or a variant of those.

microsoft whiteboard

This will allow you to import the image frame you saved. Of course, you won’t be able to make changes to the image (but you couldn’t do that in Jamboard, either).

Step #4: Make Your Final Adjustments.

Once you have the Jamboard image in Microsoft Whiteboard, you’re all set to make any edits and additions.

microsoft whiteboard
View Microsoft Whiteboard example

One of the neat features of Microsoft Whiteboard is the image editing tools.

microsoft whiteboard

You can also use the Create toolkit to create boxes that overlap elements of the imported frame and add text above those boxes.

microsoft whiteboard

Steps for Importing Whiteboard Templates into Jamboard

So you can see how easy it is to move Jamboards into Microsoft Whiteboard. Of course, you can also do the same with Microsoft. Let’s say you find a wonderful template in Microsoft Whiteboard to use. Why not export it, then bring it into Jamboard for use?

Step #1: Export the image from Microsoft Whiteboard.

Click the Settings wheel and then select Export image.

microsoft whiteboard

You will also be prompted to choose image size. Try both Standard or High resolution to see which will work best for your purposes. I preferred high resolution.

microsoft whiteboard

Step #2: Import the image into Jamboard.

Select Set Background Image, click the add image icon, and import the image.

microsoft whiteboard

Step #3: Make any adjustments!

Once you import the image, you can add sticky notes, text, images, drawings, etc.

microsoft whiteboard

From Jamboard to Microsoft and Back Again

I hope you’ve found this article on Jamboard and Microsoft Whiteboard helpful! As a bonus tip, I’ll say that one of the amazing tools you can use to design Jamboard or Whiteboard backgrounds is Sketch.io. I’ve discussed it in other blog entries. You can use it as a browser-based alternative to other popular tools. Those other tools include Google Slides, Google Drawings, or Microsoft Powerpoint. Use the tool that makes the best sense for your students. Be on the lookout for a blog later this week by Peggy Reimers with Jamboard bellringer activities!

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Jamboard templates
Content AreasGoogle Tips and Tricks

A Curated Collection of Free Jamboard Templates

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

Jamboard is one of those amazing digital learning tools that should be embraced by all educators for a number of reasons. Google created it as an “interactive whiteboard,” but it can do so much more. It’s:

  • Easy to use.
  • Geared for differentiation based on individual student need.
  • Part of the Google Suite of tools, but can work in any environment. (To see how to add a Jamboard to Microsoft Teams, check out this video.)
  • Designed specifically for collaboration.
  • For any grade level (through adult) and any content area.
  • Free!
  • Loaded with plenty of free templates already created by other educators.

Using Jamboard

You can find Jamboard by going to jamboard.google.com or by clicking the “New” button in your Google Drive and mousing over “More.” Once you do that, you’ll see all of your recent Jamboards. By the way, there’s an app for both Android and iOS, too. A new Jamboard looks like a blank screen with tools available. You can add backgrounds, images, text, and so much more.

Here are some of my favorite ways to use Jamboard:

jamboard template

Mental Health Check-Ins for Primary Students

Jamboard template

Exit Tickets

Book Review

Quadratic Key Features

Drawing Conclusions

Jamboard Templates

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many free templates available for this tool. But they are scattered over hundreds of websites and not always curated. Luckily for you, TCEA has taken the time to find and group more than 1,200 free Jamboard templates by content area and topic. You can make a copy of the document with the links to each template here. And check back often as we are constantly adding more templates to the list. It’s just another way that TCEA works to save busy educators time and to make it easier for you to concentrate on what really matters: your students!

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Google Tips and Tricks

2021 Google Resource Roundup

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

Every year, I gather all the fabulous Google resources from our blog. This year, we have had so many amazing posts on topics ranging from Chrome Extensions to Google Jamboard.  Check out this incredible list of Google blog posts from this past year categorized by topic/tool.

Arts and Culture

Calendar

Chrome Extensions

Drawings

Drive

  • Google Drive for Desktop Arrives –  This blog entry will walk you through the new Drive for Desktop and how to make the most of it.
  • Google Drive Gets a New Name –  Need a way to access Google Drive files, but don’t want to save gigabytes of data to your device? Use the re-branded Google Drive for desktop.

Earth

Jamboard

Meet

Sites

  • New Features for Google Sites –  Check out the new functions and features added for Google Sites. There are several that will make your site even more user-friendly.

Sheets

Slides

Various Google Topics and Tools

In addition, don’t forget to check out our google resource roundups from previous years. Here’s to wishing you a happy holiday and a new year full of exploring more tools, tips, tricks, and resources that will work for you. Have a wonderful Winter Break!

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Cursive
ChromebooksGoogle Tips and Tricks

Google’s Note-Taking Tool: Cursive

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Do you and your students have a touch-friendly Chromebook device? Then you’ll want to take advantage of a new, web-based note-taking tool. Cursive makes it easy to take handwritten notes and edit them with simple gestures. In this blog entry, we will explore several ways Cursive works.

Wait, Is This Only for Chromebooks?

Worried that Cursive only works on Chromebooks? Don’t be. This web app works fine on other devices in a Chrome or Chromium-based browser.

A Visual Tour

When you visit the Cursive website, you will have the option to complete a visual tour that these components:

  • Scribble over existing content you would like to remove, then tap to delete it.
  • Draw a circle to select content, then drag the circle to move content.
  • To insert space between lines, draw a line then drag line down.
  • Select content to copy, then press and hold to paste it.

Cursive

Once you are into Cursive, you have a blank canvas to begin taking notes. If you are not on a Chromebook, you can use a tablet (e.g. Wacom Intuos). To be honest, I did find installing the app a bit of a challenge.

Did You Know?

Researchers have found that taking notes by hand involves “cognitive engagement in summarizing, paraphrasing, organizing, concept, and vocabulary mapping” (source). This manipulation and transformation of information leads to deeper understanding and retention. Read more about note-taking strategies that work.

Installing the App

“How hard can it be to install a progressive web app like Cursive?” If you’re like me, you may have missed the visible cues on the screen. For example, below is what happens when you first visit the Cursive app website. Note that you have to look for a specific icon to install the app. I found the icon was different on a Chrome browser than it was on Microsoft Edge browser (Chromium-based).

Chrome browser install icon for Cursive app:

Cursive

Microsoft Edge browser install icon for Cursive app:

Cursive

Once you select the install icon, you can make some more adjustments to options:

Cursive

I had to close out the Cursive Notebook window and launch it from my desktop icon. I was then able to create my own notebook for my notes:

Cursive

Without a touch screen Chromebook, I didn’t get too far with Cursive. On a Chromebook with a mouse, you only get so far as well.

A OneNote Competitor?

When I started up Cursive, I had hoped for a Microsoft OneNote competitor. In time, it may become that. For now, it reminds me of Jamboard’s early days: a few bare-bones features with little to commend it.

Cursive

That aside, it’s obvious that if Google spends a bit more time on the tool, it could have a Microsoft OneNote competitor at last. A few things I noticed include:

  • Notebooks sync with the Google account you log in with.
  • You can organize notes into notebooks.
  • Adding images is easy and you can write on top of them.

Areas for improvement:

  • Make this at least as good as Google Keep.
  • Add text boxes so typing is an option, not handwriting alone.
  • Make it easy to export Notebooks and Notes as series of images and/or PDFs.
  • Add shape drawing support.
  • Make Notebook access collaborative.

These are obvious suggestions and I suspect Google is working on them already. So even if you don’t want to use Cursive now, keep an eye out for when the improvements happen.

Cursive

Image Credit: 9to5google.com

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icebreaker
Google Tips and Tricks

Fun Icebreaker Jamboard Templates for Back to School

by Diana Benner
written by Diana Benner

Icebreaker questions are a great way to celebrate the new school year with your students and staff, and Google Jamboard is the perfect tool to use. Let’s take a look at some fun and engaging templates you can use right away.

Icebreaker Jamboard Templates

The Jamboard templates below are designed to get your students talking. Listen to them explain and share their ideas about the questions on the jams as you learn new things about each of them. You can even join in on the fun so your students can get to know you too.

You can use one Jamboard on selected days to check in with your students or use them all during the first week of school. The possibilities are endless.

If You Could

“If You Could” questions will spark your student’s imaginations. Asking questions like, “If you could rule the world for a day, what would you change?” and “If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be and why?” will really get them talking to you and each other. Check out this If You Could Jamboard Template.

Would You Rather

“Would You Rather” questions give you an insight into your student’s preferences. This Would You Rather Jamboard Template has a few examples of questions you can ask. However, if you need more ideas, be sure to see this list of questions that are student friendly.

Favorites

Students love to talk about their favorites. This is a great way to help students find commonalities among themselves, which goes a long way to fostering classroom community. Look at this Favorites Jamboard Template.

Get to Know You

This Get to Know You Jamboard Template has a set of random questions your students can answer. The more you get to know your students, the better rapport you will have with them.

Tic-Tac-Toe

Who doesn’t love a good game of tic-tac-toe? With this Tic-Tac-Toe Jamboard Template, students read each statement and then place an “X” in the box that is true. The first two frames of the jam have examples; then you can create your own on the rest of the frames.

Random Icebreaker Questions

This Random Icebreaker Jamboard Template has even more questions. For example, “What do you think is the greatest invention of all time?” and “What’s the last movie you saw in a theater?

Most of these icebreaker templates were shared by Patty Jeanne of the Teachers Using Jamboards Facebook group. If you are looking for even more Jamboard templates, check out these for social-emotional learning (SEL) and for elementary students and secondary students.

And if you just want more ideas for icebreakers, be sure to download our free ebook Digital Icebreakers That Shatter.

More Back-to-School Resources

Back-to-School Roundup

10 First Day of School Activities Shared by Teachers

Three Editable Back-to-School Activities for Language Development

Five Creative Back-to-School Activities from Book Creator

Free Classroom Posters

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Canva whiteboard based on author created content
CanvaGoogle Tips and Tricks

How to Make Interactive Maps with Google Slides and a Digital Whiteboard

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

This past week, I found myself wondering if making interactive maps with Google Slides and a digital whiteboard might work. All you need for an interactive map is the ability to hyperlink, and Google Slides has that capability. But how to make it more interactive? The answer might lie with a digital whiteboard. In this blog entry, we’ll explore how to create an interactive map you and your students can write or draw on.

Revisiting the Conversation

“We’re working on a D and D interactive map,” shared a colleague. I looked at Allison. I had to clarify.

“Are you saying Dungeons and Dragons?” I asked, as a few videos on map-making for novels came to mind. Although I had never played them, role-playing game literature (LITRPG) has been a source of great fantasy stories. I could definitely see how K-12 students, even adult learners, could spend hours engaged in world building, map making, and storytelling. The academic possibilities are endless, from geography to social studies to language learning. Even math could also play a part.

“Yes, Dungeons and Dragons. My husband makes a map for our games. We want to make an interactive one, but aren’t sure how to do it. I wondered if Google Slides might work.”

As you might imagine, it may be possible to create an interactive, clickable map. But Allison went on to explain that they wanted something more: a digital map on which participants could write and circle key areas.

Tools for Making Interactive Maps

Creating digital maps can be a big deal. Online tools like Inkarnate make creating fantasy maps easy to do. It makes battle map, world maps, regional maps, and city and/or village maps easy to make. You can even craft maps inside buildings like taverns, houses, and more. The problem is, you may have to pay for it.

interactive maps
Image Source: Inkarnate website

A few other tools you can use include the following (in alpha order):

Don’t worry, I’ll share some ideas for making maps in Google Slides and a digital whiteboard in a moment. First, let’s take a look at some resources you can explore.

USGS to the Rescue

To get started with maps, I didn’t want to infringe on others’ map creations. As you will see in my example, I looked into online map collections. After a chat with Dr. Aida R. Guhlincozzi, she pointed me to the USGS. So, I dug into the United States Geographical Service (USGS) Topographical Map Collection. What a treasure trove of maps.

interactive maps

I’ve included the USGS link, among others (e.g. National Geographic), in a curated collection for you. I hope it will save you and your students some time in getting started.

The Digital Cartographer’s Bag of Holding

You’re familiar with a bag of holding, right? It’s a bag with an inside space that may enjoy never-ending storage. You can put anything it and the bag doesn’t get heavier. The internet is a modern traveler’s bag of holding, and Wakelet is one of the ever-expanding compartments.

To get you started in fantasy map making online. I’ve collected a few of the images I found. You will discover a lot more in this magic satchel, The Digital Cartographer’s Bag of Holding. This is a Wakelet collection to get you started.

interactive maps

Open the Bag of Holding at https://tinyurl.com/tceamapmkr

Be warned: you can spend hours exploring the contents of this never-ending bag.

interactive maps

View or Get a Copy of this Google Slides Interactive Map Example

Interactive Maps with Google Slides

But let’s take map making a step further. To create clickable maps in Google Slides, you need to first arrange the images you want into your Google Slides slide. Then you create subsequent slides. To create a link from one slide to another, INSERT LINK and choose the slide number that you want.

interactive maps

You can even create a menu that will move you from one grid to another, although not necessarily in sequence.

interactive maps

Now, in any situation, you and collaborators may have a need to write on your digital map. How do you do that without messing things up? Not everyone is a Google Slides expert. That’s where a digital whiteboard comes into play.

In this example, the digital whiteboard I’m going to use is Canva’s whiteboard. It makes a snap to import a slide deck, such as from Google Slides, then quickly turn every slide into a whiteboard. Once it’s a whiteboard, it’s interactive. Of course, you can always use another whiteboard solution, such as Figjam. Use what works best for you.

Did You Know?

You can go deeper than you ever thought possible into Google Slides’ capabilities. Sign up now for the online, self-paced TCEA Google Slides course. This course not only covers building a presentation, but also shares how you can leverage the powerful features and functionality of Google Slides for teaching and learning. Participants who successfully complete this course will receive a TCEA Google Slides digital badge and completion certificate, along with 12 CPE hours. Learn more.

Drawing on Your Map with Canva Whiteboard

Canva Whiteboard makes it easy for others to interact by adding Post-It-type notes and more to your digital map. You can create an icon that allows people to annotate the map.

You can see the quill in the map above. Clicking on the quill will “transport” you to a whiteboard that you can write or draw on. With a Canva whiteboard, you may want to make each slide it’s own whiteboard. Or, if you are working with a trusted group of students or individuals, you can let them work on the whole digital interactive map.

Here’s what the whiteboard you can draw on looks like:

View or Get a Copy of This Canva whiteboard

This ensures that I can load any image, such as one from Google Slides that I’ve exported as PNG, as a background that students can add content (e.g. post-its, images/illustrations) to without changing the grid. Isn’t that amazing?

Did You Know?

TCEA has a flexible, online Canva Educator course to introduce you to Canva’s powerful toolkit! Learn how to easily and quickly create spectacular resources, even if you’re not a designer or an artist. Or, if you’re comfortable with Canva’s tools, you may want to jump into TCEA’s Canva Specialist course, which focuses on AI tools and apps.

Creating Interactive Maps

Making interactive maps with Google Slides and/or Canva is quite easy. To be honest, if your district has Canva (it’s free!), you could prepare the slideshow in Canva, then pop out the individual slides as whiteboards (very easy to do in Canva). Or, if you only have Google access, use Slides and some other whiteboard (e.g. Figjam).

You can apply this technique to a variety of instructional activities; it’s not limited to social studies, history, or geography classes. It’s also an easy way to introduce students to map making through role playing games (RPGs). You might find the Dungeon Classroom Guide: Using Table-Top Role-Playing Games in the Classroom worthwhile reading. What’s more, the story writing possibilities that accompany even a simple map are endless. Give it a try!

Feature Image Source

Photo by author.

This blog entry was updated in January, 2024 to reflect the use of Canva whiteboard as a replacement for Jamboard, which Google decided to end in 2024.

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