A Whiteboard That Can Time-Travel? - Whaaat?!

Virtual whiteboards have become a necessity for collaboration and training thanks to our new reality with remote and hybrid work and learning. Google's Jamboard provides a no-fuss, easy-to use whiteboard surface to teach or collaborate on, and it has just gotten better: it now has Version history!

Now, that's like a whiteboard being able to time-travel! 

Tips for end-users and small businesses:

You set up a whiteboard for a meeting: carefully craft a table to fill with rows of colorful, virtual sticky notes, and at the end of your wildly successful and lively meeting, you come to the realization as a team that you would like to revert back to the version from the middle of the session.

OR 

You realize that tomorrow, you have to conduct the same session with a different group, and you need to reuse that same original, clean table structure that you started with. 

What now?

💎KloudGem 1: You are in luck! Just click the 3 dots in the top right-hand corner and access the Version history: restore or make a copy of a version as you need to. You can look through the time-stamped versions to find the one you were looking for or jump to a version you may have named in the past for easy reference.

💎KloudGem 2: Jamboard whiteboarding files can be created just like any other Google file, in Google Drive:

💎KloudGem 3: To use Jamboard, all you need is a Google Account.

Tips for mid-size companies and large enterprises:

💎KloudGem 4: You can leverage Jamboard in many different ways to support your remote and hybrid working models:

• Through laptop or desktop computers in the Chrome browser and Google Drive,

• Through tablets' iPad or Android apps,

• Through phones' iPhone or Android apps,

• Through physical Jamboard kiosks that allow you to scribble on them just like an old-fashioned physical whiteboard -- except this whiteboard allows for remote collaboration. (The physical board option has extra cost involved for the device and is not a must-have to leverage the power of Jamboard.)

A Jamboard file, also called a Jam, is a whiteboard that can continue to be used  past the meeting, either asynchronously or from where you left off, the next time you meet.

Do you use Jamboard? I'd love to hear how you best leverage them for your meetings, collaboration, or teaching.

Need a Google Workspace expert for your organization's digital transformation and change management? Contact me for a free first consult: https://www.kloudgem.com/get-in-touch/contact  

Do you know someone who could use these KloudGem tips? Feel free to send them this link: https://www.kloudgem.com/follow-resources/newsletter

KloudGem website: https://www.kloudgem.com

Google Slides' Hidden Tools

I was very excited about the latest changes in Google Slides. Even though they sound simple, they make a huge difference.

As easy as it is to present in Google Slides, the presenter's toolbar that used to show up in black at the bottom of the screen seemed to have a life of its own: as you moved your mouse, it would pop up to obstruct the presentation at the worst times. Well, not anymore: Google has significantly reduced the size of the bar and made it translucent so it's more subtle, keeping the non-essential functionality tucked away in the More (3 dots) menu.

Here is the small bar that shows up:

This new arrangement will ensure that less of your presentation is obstructed if you move your mouse to the lower left corner of your screen. It also seems to be quicker to disappear once you move your mouse away again.

And here is the expanded view available with all the bells and whistles when you click the More (3 dots) menu:

The various tools available to you when you expand the More (3 dots) menu (pointer, Q&A, captions, etc.) are still available to help you engage with your audience.

If you’ve tried this new view, I'm curious about whether you’ve found it more comfortable to use. Let me know in the comments.

Need a Google Workspace expert for your organization's digital transformation and change management? Contact me for a free first consult: https://www.kloudgem.com/get-in-touch/contact  

Do you know someone who could use these KloudGem tips? Feel free to send them this link: https://www.kloudgem.com/follow-resources/newsletter

KloudGem website: https://www.kloudgem.com

💎 Are You a Google Wiz?

There are a few functionalities in Google tools that are so hidden, barely anyone I talk to knows about them, and when I show them, people are floored that they exist.

I thought today I would bring you a fun Game. 

Click the below link to fill out this Quiz and see how well you know Google tools -- not just Google Workspace.

Are You a Google Wiz? - game 

💎Have fun! Leave a comment if you liked it.

Need a Google Workspace expert for your organization's digital transformation and change management? Contact me for a free first consult: https://www.kloudgem.com/get-in-touch/contact  

Do you know someone who could use these KloudGem tips? Feel free to send them this link: https://www.kloudgem.com/follow-resources/newsletter

KloudGem website: https://www.kloudgem.com

The One Thing Everyone Asks Me About Google Accounts

There is one question that every single client of mine -- big or small -- asks me about Google Accounts: "How do I know which account I am signed into?"

My clients tell me that when they have more than one Google Account -- and who doesn't? -- it becomes super confusing to use them: they often wind up creating files or trying to access files from the account they didn't mean to be logged into. How can you avoid this?

Tips for end-users and small businesses:

💎 KloudGem 1: First of all, let me show you how you can check the Google Account you are signed into: if you are in Chrome, click the bigger avatar picture. That will show you the account you are in.

If you see any other account listed under your main avatar, there is a good chance for your accounts to get tangled, which could result in you -- seemingly -- not having access to files you previously did, or creating files in an account you didn't mean to create them in, etc. So do yourself a favor and keep your Google Accounts well separated by not using the "Add another account."

💎 KloudGem 2: If you are already showing multiple accounts in the above screen, opt to sign out (just make sure you know the passwords to each before doing that). And then sign into just one. 

💎 KloudGem 3: Instead of "Adding another account," be consistent and either use a dedicated browser for each of your Google Accounts OR add another Chrome profile for each of your other Google Accounts (click the smaller of the avatars in Chrome and select Add). You can switch between Chrome profiles from the small avatar in Chrome, and on a Windows machine you can even create dedicated shortcuts on your Desktop as part of the setup process.

Tips for mid-size companies and large enterprises:

💎 KloudGem 4: To keep your company's information secure, make it part of your employee requirements and information security training that your users keep their work accounts and personal accounts well separated: 

1. whether by not accessing personal emails from work computers, OR 

2. making sure they use different browsers, OR

3. using an incognito window for personal accounts, OR 

4. equipping them with the knowledge of how to create different Chrome profiles. 

Pick a method that aligns with your company's information security requirements.

Need a Google Workspace expert for your organization's digital transformation and change management? Contact me for a free first consult: https://www.kloudgem.com/get-in-touch/contact  

Do you know someone who could use these KloudGem tips? Feel free to send them this link: https://www.kloudgem.com/follow-resources/newsletter

KloudGem website: https://www.kloudgem.com