Skip to content

For teachers who used Google Jamboard

Google ended Jamboard. Here's what works in its place.

Shared sticky notes, drawing, a link-based board — same as before, plus PDF, LaTeX formulas, quizzes and flashcards in the same canvas. No Google account required.

Open a board without an accountSee how it looks
Lucyboard with the elements Jamboard users know: sticky notes, drawing, shared space.

In late 2024 Google shut Jamboard down. A lot of teachers lost their main tool overnight.

Google Jamboard has been officially discontinued, and the web app states it is no longer available. Older jams are no longer editable in Google's ecosystem, leaving worksheets saved as static PDFs on Google Drive. This is why teachers need a modern, reliable workspace that immediately opens those materials and lets them keep teaching.

Lucyboard board with elements familiar to a Jamboard user: sticky notes, drawing frame, shared space.

What was good about Jamboard, and what you don't want to lose.

A shared board from a link, a drawing frame, sticky notes, several people working at the same time, no install. These are the things Jamboard did well and what a switcher wants to see in the new tool right away. If you open Lucyboard and you do not feel lost in the first 30 seconds, that is a good sign.

Quiz and PDF on the same board, which did not exist in Jamboard.

What you get extra if you choose Lucyboard.

Jamboard had a board. Lucyboard has a board plus: PDF as an element (drop a worksheet and write the solution next to it), LaTeX formulas (useful for math and physics), a quick quiz next to the notes, flashcards for recap. These are not features for the sake of features — they are tools a teacher usually needs in the second minute of a lesson, and Jamboard did not have them.

Board view without Google integrations — example of link-based sharing.

What Lucyboard does not have, and will not pretend to have.

No native integration with Google Classroom, Meet, or Workspace — you share a link, you do not click "add to Google". No offline mode. No native iPad app. No vector-grade drawing on the level of Illustrator. If any of these is critical for you, this is not a 1:1 replacement and you should keep looking.

Four steps to switch: open, drop material, send link, students join.

What the switch looks like in four steps.

1) Open Lucyboard. 2) Drop in your material (PDF, photo, blank board). 3) Send the link to Classroom, email, WhatsApp — wherever you used to share Jamboard. 4) Students click and they are on the board. Done. No data migration, no training, no setup.

Example of how to drop a screenshot from an old board as an element of a new board.

What to do with your old Jamboard files.

Lucyboard does not import Jam files as editable vector shapes. Google made past Jams available as static PDF files in Google Drive in 2025. You can import these PDFs into Lucyboard as canvas backgrounds and continue adding notes and formulas; an exported image also works.

Who Lucyboard is NOT a Jamboard alternative for.

In a few situations, you will need to keep looking:

  • Your school is built around Google Classroom, Meet, and Workspace, and you want the board to live in that ecosystem.
  • Your students must work without internet (for example, on a school trip).
  • You need a native iPad app, not a browser version.
  • Your lesson is mostly vector drawing or graphic design, not notes.

Try it on one lesson.

No account, no install, no email. Open a board, drop in a PDF, send the link to your student. If after one lesson you go back to how it used to work in Jamboard, that is honest feedback worth sending us.

Open a boardSee Lucyboard for teachers

Frequently asked questions

Not as editable Jamboard vector objects. According to Google, Jams were converted to static PDFs in Google Drive in 2025. Lucyboard cannot recreate Jamboard's native vector format, but you can import the preserved PDF or image and continue annotating on top.

Lucyboard includes video meetings with camera, microphone and screen sharing, so the call and board can run in one application. It is not a native Google Workspace integration. If you prefer Meet, you can still paste the Lucyboard link into the call.

No. The student opens the link in the browser, with no login. This is one of the main differences from Jamboard, which also did not require a student account but did require a Google account from the teacher.

Yes. Lucyboard is a web app and works in Chrome on a Chromebook, in Safari on a Mac, in Edge on Windows, in the browser on a tablet. A stylus works as a stylus.

For a single teacher, the Basic plan is free. If you need access for a school or several teachers, contact us to discuss the scope and pricing.

No. Lucyboard does not require a school-wide deployment. One teacher signs up, students join from a link, the rest of the school does not need to change anything. Scaling to the whole school is a separate decision.

Related pages