How to use a whiteboard in Google Meet

It's hard to imagine a real business meeting without whiteboards. And online meetings are no exception. These boards help brainstorming sessions run smoothly by serving as a powerful visualization tool.

Google Meet has a great built-in tool called Jamboard which serves the exact same purpose. But how exactly do you use an online whiteboard like Jamboard?

Luckily, it's not a complicated task, and this article shares everything there is to know about it. We'll give you step-by-step instructions and tips on how to use Whiteboard in Google Meet on PC, iPhone, and Android device.

How to Whiteboard in Google Meet on PC

Google Meet is packed with plenty of features, and the Jamboard whiteboard tool is one of the best. In addition, its use is completely free, regardless of the status of your subscription.

To use Whiteboard in Google Meet, you must first start a video call. Follow the steps below for more details:

1. Go to Google Meet.
   
2. Join or start a new meeting.
   
3. Tap the "Activities" button at the bottom right of the screen. It's the button with a little triangle, square, and circle on it.
   
4. Click on “whiteboard”.
   
5. Choose from the two options. You can either create a new whiteboard by clicking "Start New Whiteboard" or load an existing one from your Drive by clicking "Choose from Drive".
   

The whiteboard will now appear on the main screen.

When launching Whiteboard, it is important to understand basic access permissions:

• All attendees invited to the calendar, as well as those from the same organization as the whiteboard host, have edit access once the Jamboard is shared.
• Attendees who are not on the calendar invite but are part of the organization will have edit access when invited to the meeting.
• Google Workspace for Education participants have read-only access by default. To change this, you need to grant them edit access. You must also allow access to participants who join Google Meet after the Jamboard is shared.

Here's how to do it:

1. Start a new jam.
2. Click on the three horizontal lines to open the menu.
3. Select "Share".
   
4. Enter the person's email address and select "Send".
   

Basic Jamboard Tools

Once you've launched Meet and your Jamboard is enabled, you'll see a toolbar at the bottom of the screen that lets you interact with your whiteboard.

You can write or draw on your jam by selecting the "Draw" option from the toolbar. You can also add different shapes by selecting "Assisted drawing tools" under "Draw". If you want to add a note, select "Insert Note" from the toolbar.

Insert an image by selecting "Choose Image" from the toolbar. You can either add an image from image search, web search, add stickers or take a photo from your camera.

Send Jams as PDFs

Another useful feature of Google Meet Jamboard is to send the whiteboard in PDF format after the meeting is over. Here's how to do it from the Jamboard:

1. Open the jam.
2. Click on the three horizontal lines to open the menu and select "Send a copy".
3. Choose between “All images (PDF)” or “Current image (PNG)”.
4. Enter the recipients' email address.
5. Click on "Send".

You can also share jams from your computer:

1. Open a jam you want to send.
   
2. Click on the three vertical dots and select "Download as PDF" or "Save frame as image".
   
3. Send the file via Google Mail or another program.

How to Whiteboard in Google Meet on an iPhone

Unfortunately, Google Meet Whiteboard is not yet available on mobile devices. You can either use the Jamboard app or the Google Meet app, but you have to do that separately. And if you try to open Google Meet from your browser, you'll be redirected to the Meet app instead.

That's why it's best to switch to your computer if you absolutely need to use Google's Jamboard and grant everyone editing access. Alternatively, you can use the screen sharing feature on your device and have the Jamboard app or any other third-party tool act as your whiteboard. You can download different apps from your App Store that have a whiteboard tool such as Miró, Microsoft Whiteboard, etc.

We've based the steps below on the Microsoft Whiteboard app because it's one of the easiest options to use, but you can use any software you find convenient.

1. Go to the App Store and download the Microsoft Whiteboard app.
   
2. Start a group call on your Google Meet app.
   
3. Tap the three vertical dots at the bottom right of the screen.
   
4. Tap the “Share Screen” option from the menu.
   
5. Select "Start Sharing" to confirm.
   
6. You are now sharing your screen with all meeting participants. Go to your iPhone's home page and launch the Microsoft Whiteboard app.
7. All meeting participants will be able to see the whiteboard.

Now you can jot down your ideas, write notes, or visualize data during your Google Meet for everyone to see. Unfortunately, others won't be able to edit the file since only you have access to it.

How to Whiteboard in Google Meet on Android Device

If you're an Android user and want to start a Jamboard during your Google Meet, you can't do that directly from the app. There is still no update allowing smartphone users to create whiteboards during meetings. If you try to open Google Meet from your browser, you'll be redirected to the Meet app instead.

However, there is a workaround. You can use third-party whiteboard tools and share your Android device screen for Meet participants to see. This option works great if you're the only one who needs edit access to the whiteboard. If you also need other people to participate, you will need to switch to your computer.

Some popular whiteboard apps for Android users include Miró, Whiteboard, and Microsoft Whiteboard. We've used Microsoft's for the example below, but you can download whichever app you find most convenient.

1. Go to the Play Store and download the Microsoft Whiteboard app.
2. Start a group call on the Google Meet app.
   
3. Tap the three vertical dots at the bottom right of the screen.
   
4. Select "Share Screen" from the menu.
   
5. Tap "Start Broadcast" to confirm.
   
6. You are now sharing your screen with all meeting participants. Go to the home page of your Android device and launch the Whiteboard app.
7. All meeting participants will be able to see the whiteboard, but they will not have editing privileges.

Make brainstorming more efficient in Google Meet

Whiteboards can be real lifesavers when it comes to jotting down ideas during meetings. Their ease of use ensures that everyone shares their ideas instantly. Fortunately, Google Meet has a dedicated whiteboard tool, Jamboard, for this purpose. To get the most out of its features, it's best to do your Google Meet on your computer.

Hope this article helped you increase the productivity of your next event with a great whiteboard tool. If you have any questions on the subject, leave us a comment below.