Google Hangouts Meet is a simple, reliable way to quickly host web meetings. It features a simpler interface than products like Zoom, which makes it ideal for meeting with students (virtual office hours) or even small classes.
Scheduling a Meeting, and inviting a Student to a Web Meeting via Google Hangouts Meet
1 | When a student requests a meeting with you, for example, during virtual office hours, go to your Google Calendar. First, login to Google Drive via the MyCanisius Portal Then, click the nine-box in the upper right corner, and scroll to find and choose the Google Calendar Icon |   |
2 | Once in Google Calendar, click a time and day of the week for the meeting. Then click "More Options" in the dialog box for that new meeting. |
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3 | This gives you more options for the meeting. Under "Add Conferencing," choose "Hangouts Meet." Fill in any other details you wish. On the righthand side, under "Guests," add your student's email address. Then click the blue "save," button and the meeting is created in Google Calendar. Your student (or if you invited multiple, students) will receive an email notification that is also a calendar invite for the meeting. |
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Joining Your Hangouts Meet Web Meeting
4 | When it's time for your web meeting, return to Google Calendar using the steps above. Alternatively, you can go directly to Hangouts Meet by clicking the green and white camera icon |
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5 | Once there, click on the meeting. You will see a link in the meeting dialog box that says "Join Hangouts Meet." Click that link to join the meeting. |  |
6 | Google may prompt you, through your browser, to allow access to your camera and microphone. Allow it to use those, so you can communicate. Then click "Join Meeting" If they are not already in the meeting, your students should join you shortly. |
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Impromptu or Immediate Meeting
If you wish to start a meeting right away that you haven't scheduled beforehand, it's even easier:
First, login to Google Drive via the MyCanisius Portal Then, click the nine-box in the upper right corner, and scroll to find Web Meetings |
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In the Meet landing page, click + Join or Start a Meeting. In the following screen your browser might prompt you to use your microphone and camera. Allow this, and you should see your webcam image, together with a green Join Meeting button. Click Join Meeting. |
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Once you are in the meeting, you are presented with an Add others screen. There, you can copy the joining information to paste in an email to your other participant(s). If they are Canisius students, you can simply click "Add people" and enter their email addresses. Click "Send Invite," and Google will send them a personalized invitation to their email right away. As soon as they get the email invite, your participants can join the meeting. |
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| At any time you can get the Joining information again by clicking the name of the meeting in the lower lefthand corner of the window. |
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Other Possibilities
If you plan to host a online live remote class with multiple students, you can provide another way for students to easily reach the web meeting. Copy the link you see in step 4, under "Join Hangouts Meet," and post it into a module in D2L. That way, students can access the meeting without having to find the invite in their email. (You may need to manually approve their entry into the meeting, with a single click.)
Google Hangouts Meet also works well with colleagues, and even friends and family, since there's less steps involved than in using a more complicated web conference application.
For more tutorials on Hangouts Meet, visit the Google Support Pages.