Google Hangouts is our licensed and long-term tool of choice. It is fully integrated into the Google environment and will be available for long-term use, as DCSD has a district-wide license for all staff use.

Zoom was temporarily available for free, but it generally requires paid licenses for a school or staff subscription. Those licenses are not cheap, and they will not be available as a district-wide purchase. Additionally, we do not have security or data integrations between Zoom and our staff and student databases and do not plan on creating those, as its not our enterprise tool of choice in the long term.

Chromebook Install Instructions

PC/Mac Install Instructions

Students are not able to create a Google Meet with their DCSD accounts. They are only able to join Meets created by their teachers or other DCSD staff.

First off, you can tell people in the meeting that if they don’t need their video on, they can choose to turn it off. Second, in most cases we find the issues to be local with the user’s home internet connection or home connectivity for the other people they are chatting with. If you have a slower connection or live in a high usage neighborhood, that may be a reason for garbled and slow internet connections. Many more people are now using their home internet than before, and this could be causing these issues.

Google Voice is, unfortunately, a paid service even for education customers. We do have a soft phone application, Jabber, you can download on your phone or computer to get your office phone line for calling and receiving via the district number. Information on Jabber can be found here.

Non-district email accounts cannot join Google Classrooms. So, giving classroom codes to parents/guardians will not give them access. They can either login with their student's credentials or they can be sent Parent/Guardian emails. Here are some support pages to help with this.

https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6386354
https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6388126
https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/7126518

Before you start your first video call:

• Check the system requirements for Hangouts.

• Connect a camera, microphone, and speakers to your computer. Make sure they have the latest software.

• When asked to use your computer's camera and microphone, click Allow.

• Download and install the latest version of the Hangouts plugin for Internet Explorer and Safari browsers.

Important: You might need to turn on permissions for your camera and microphone in your computer's system settings.

Allow Hangouts to use your camera and microphone,
Chrome
Hangouts video calls need to use your computer's camera and microphone so you can start your video call.

If you're using a work, school, or other account that doesn’t end in @gmail.com, you might need to download and install the latest version of the Hangouts plugin.
Allow camera & microphone access

• Open hangouts.google.com.

• Click Video call . A message will appear at the top of the video call window.

• Click Allow. You only need to do this once. You can allow to use:

• Recording : The video call is using your camera and microphone.

• Video camera : The video call is using your camera and microphone.

Change setting to allow access
If you aren’t asked to allow access or if you blocked access before, you can change your settings.

• Open hangouts.google.com.

• Click Video call .

• In the top right, click Camera error .

• Click Always allow https://hangouts.google.com to access your camera and microphone.

• Click Done. The video call will automatically connect. If you don't see the call refresh, exit and re-enter the call.
  

support.google.com

Get started with classic Hangouts - Computer - Hangouts Help

You can use Hangouts to: Start a chat conversation. Make phone calls using Wi-Fi or data. Send text messages with your Google Voice or Google Fi phone number.
hangouts.google.com
Google Hangouts
Hangouts bring conversations to life with photos, emoji, and even group video calls for free. Connect with friends across computers, Android, and Apple devices.

To clear cookies and cache in Chrome:

• On your computer, open Chrome.

• At the top right, click More .

• Click More tools Clear browsing data.

• At the top, choose a time range. We recommend setting the time range to the last seven days.

• Next to "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files," check the boxes.

• Click Clear data.

To reset Chrome settings to default:

You can restore your browser settings in Chrome at any time. You might need to do this if apps or extensions you installed changed your settings without your knowledge. Your saved bookmarks and passwords won't be cleared or changed.

• On your computer, open Chrome.

• At the top right, click More Settings.

• At the bottom, click Advanced.

• Chromebook, Linux, and Mac: Under "Reset Settings," click Restore settings to their original defaults Reset Settings.

• Windows: Under "Reset and cleanup,” click Reset Settings Reset Settings.

These steps won't provide a full reset. For example, some settings like fonts or accessibility won't be deleted. To create a new user profile, add a new user in Chrome.

To reset your Chromebook, hit esc+refresh+power button. Then shut the lid, and the device will boot back to normal.