*Some of the following guide is taken and edited for relevancy from S3 Technologies Vol 43.5
UPDATE: Google is throwing their hat in the ring to compete more aggressively with Zoom. All G Suite for Education users will see updates to their Google Meet features within the next few weeks. Teachers will be able to:
- view up to 49 attendees at once with grid view
- mute all participants
- change their backgrounds
- end meetings for all students
- implement a hand raising feature for students
- and enact new security settings that will not allow anonymous guests to join the call.
- A whiteboard feature for both demonstrative and collaborative learning opportunities within video conferences will also be added.
Google has also announced that they will be reducing the price of G Suite Enterprise for Education ‘until Fall’. This advanced version of the Education service will bring attendance and breakout room features to Google Meet.
While Zoom seems to have taken the teaching world by storm, G-Suite by Google has another option for meeting with students over video. Google Hangouts became Google’s chat feature in 2013. The ability to use video was added with the creation of Google Meet. This is typically a paid service, but Google has given free access to the service through September 30th, 2020 due to the pandemic. Remote learning right through Google has never been easier!
Google Meet can be tied right to your Google Classroom, hold up to 250 participants, live stream your meeting, and record the footage directly to your Google Drive.
Log into Google Classroom using your CHCS login information. It’s important that you use the email and password connected to your school account for the new features to appear!
Open up one of your classes and select the gear icon in the top right corner. This will open your settings.
Within your settings, scroll down to the section titled, ‘General’.
Generate your Meet link. By clicking this button, you will assign a unique link to your Classroom. This link will only allow those with the link to enter your Meeting and prevent anyone from entering before you.
Creating a link will automatically toggle visibility to students. When done, save your settings, and return to your stream.
When your students log back into your Classroom, they will now see the Meet link up at the top. As this link is unique, you will not have to continuously create new Meetings for each day that you would like to regroup with students.
The link is also available on the Classwork tab.
Note: If you would like to have a fellow teacher or another guest who is not in your Classroom in your Meeting, you are able to copy and send that link over to them to give them access.
Congratulations! You’ve officially created a Meet link for your Classroom. This can be repeated for as many classes as you’d like.
Now, let’s cover some frequently asked questions!
F.A.Q.
What happens if a student clicks the Meet link before I start the Meeting?
Students can click the link at any time. If you have not started the Meet as the teacher, they will receive an error message claiming the code does not work. This does NOT mean your code is defective; it simply is not active as you have yet to start the meeting.
Once you officially start the meeting, students will be able to use the link as normal.
How do I prevent students from lingering after the Meet is over?
Ask your students politely to disconnect. Those who have trouble doing so or deliberately choose not to can be removed by you.
Select the ‘People’ tab in the top right corner of the screen. This will display everyone still currently in the Meet. If you select the down arrow next to their name, you will see the option to remove them.
*** There is about a slight delay after you click to end the Meet. Students can technically rejoin at this time, so if this is a concern for you, you can rejoin after a short while and check that the Meet is empty.
I want to share my screen with my students in Meet, but I have aspiring comedians in my class, and I have to keep my eyes on their video feed/the chat at all times.
While sharing your screen does take away your ability to see your students during your presentation, there are a couple possible solutions.
1) If you have one available, consider connecting another monitor to your desktop or laptop display. This will allow one screen to display the students while the other shows your content.
2) Another option is to log yourself in to the Meet using a different device. If you are presenting from your laptop, consider hopping in the Meet on your smartphone or tablet to create a second screen.
Make sure to click the bottom of the screen to mute the microphone and turn off the camera on the new device to avoid echo or appearing to the students twice.
3) If you only have one device and one monitor, you can overlay your presentation with your Meet window. You can start up your meeting as usual. Make sure the content you want to share is open in the same browser, but in individual tabs.
Click and drag your Google Meet tab so that it becomes a new window. Select the chat tab and resize the window so it is not full screen.
When you go back to your teaching materials, size them to lay over your new window with the chat still showing out from underneath. As you select to present, make sure to choose ‘window’ rather than ‘entire screen’.
This will enable you to flip back and forth easily and always keep an eye on the chat!
How can I collaborate with students or show them my work without a whiteboard?
While Google Meet does not have a whiteboard feature attached, there are two great Google whiteboard applications you and your students can use during a Meet!
If you want to present to students, you can use Google Canvas.
It can be found at canvas.apps.chrome in your browser.
This feature is best for showing how to solve equations or for writing down information that you do not want students to also be able to write on.
On the Canvas site, you will be able to choose to create a new drawing or begin writing on an image. The latter can be used to continue where your class left off on the last drawing or to annotate any image of your choosing.
To save the Canvas as an image, select the three dots in the top right corner of the screen. If you want to continue where you left off during this class period, select New from image the next time you open Canvas, and upload this saved image!
If you want to collaborate with students, you can use Google Jamboard.
You can access Jamboard at jamboard.google.com in your browser.
On the Jamboard home page, you will have the option to create a new Jam with the plus button at the bottom or open an older Jam to continue where your class left off.
In the Jam, you will have the option to choose between utensil and utensil color, background appearance, eraser, selection, post it note insertion, image insertion, and laser pointer.
We highly encourage you to play with these and get a feel for them before trying a Jam with your class!
In order to collaborate, you will have to share the Jam with your Classroom. This is done the same way as sharing a Doc or Spreadsheet; by selecting the Share button in the top right. You can share by email address or through the shareable link.
Remember to change the access to allow anyone with the link to be able to edit! You can send this link in the Meet chat or post in your stream.
You can download the Jam as a PDF to give to absent students or to post as notes in your Classroom. It is best to do this when you know that the notes have not been disturbed by a student going back in the Jam after the Meet has ended.
To do this, select the three dots up at the top and choose Save as PDF. From here, you can also Rename the Jam, Save the Jam as an image, or remove the Jam entirely.
Congratulations!
You have now conquered Google Meet! Remember to always flip back to the Meet tab and end your presentation when you are done. Double check that all of the students have left before continuing on with using your device. It may seem overwhelming at first, but this is a user-friendly platform that wants to help with remote learning. Give it a try and we think you’ll love it.
Happy Meeting!
