Google Meet
Only HFISD Staff Members can create a Google Meet event. Students can accept an invite from a teacher, but can not create an event.
Google Meet Tips:
Participants should mute their mics until they are ready to speak.
To preserve bandwidth turn your camera off, unless face to face video interaction is needed. Your Google account profile picture will display while the camera is off.
Utilize the chat feature to “raise your hand” when you are ready to add to the conversation or need to share links to resources with the participants in the Meet.
Teachers should be the first to arrive and last to leave a Meet.
Establish acceptable behaviors and best practices with students when Meeting for the first time.
Virtual Meeting Best Practices:
Before the Meet:
Enable Google Meets within Classroom in the settings for each class.
Set virtual Classroom expectations and share ahead of time.
If students don’t follow guidelines, remove them.
Participants should be dressed appropriately.
Students should use parent approved locations for video conferencing- avoid walking around.
During the Meet:
Teachers should join the Meet at least 5 min. before they plan to start and be the last to leave.
Optional: Within the first 5 minutes do a filler activity to give enough time for everyone to join.
Go over virtual Classroom expectations first.
Make sure participants know how to use the tools and are muted unless they need to ask a question. (Consider having them raise their hand through chat before unmuting.)
After the Meet:
Check Go Guardian to make sure no students rejoin the Meet within the first minute of the Meet ending; Close tabs if needed.
Things to Note:
Use ONLY Google Meet to conduct virtual sessions with students. Refrain from using Zoom.
Teacher/Student Meets
In Google's newest update, teachers can now create a unique Meet link directly within Google Classroom! Teachers should be the first to enter and the last to leave. This will help with students joining the Meet prior to the teacher being present, and restarting the Meet after the teacher leaves. A unique Meet link will be created for each Classroom after it is enabled in the settings.
Grid View Extension
Want to see more than four people at a time in your Google Meets? Install this extension!
Once installed, you'll see a new grid icon in the top right corner of the Meet window (next to the "People" and "Chat" buttons). Once you turn it on you'll see all the participants in the Meeting. You'll also have the option to turn on the following features:
Only show participants with video - If checked, only participants who have enabled their webcam will display.
Highlight speakers - When checked, a highlighted box appears around the person speaking making it easier to see who is talking.
Include yourself in the grid - Allows you the option to include yourself in the grid view.
Additional Tutorial Videos:
Starting a Meet
Inviting People to a Meet
It is recommended that teachers use the new Classroom/Meet update and create the link directly in Classroom.
Joining a Meet
Basic Use and Features
How to Keep Students from Joining or Rejoining a Meet Without You
NOTE: Please continue to use GoGuardian with Google Meets. If students try to rejoin within the first minute of the teacher leaving, close the tab through GoGuardian. After approximately one minute, the link should no longer be active.
Recording a Meet:
*This feature is NOT recommended for Meets with students. Best used for staff meetings and PD.*
After joining a Meet, the creator of the Meet can click the three dots in the lower right corner and select Record Meeting. The file will save to a folder in your Drive automatically, titled Hangouts Meet.
