Google Adds More Audio and Video Controls to Google Meet
This week Google announced a new feature that will be welcomed by any teacher who regularly uses Google Meet to host online classes. That feature is the ability to selectively mute participant audio and video. For quite a while you’ve been able to mute all participants and turn off their webcams. The new feature prevents […]
New Google Meet Settings for Google Classroom Users
For many of us virtual meetings and online classes aren’t going away anytime soon. Google has responded to that by steadily adding more features to Google Meet over the last eighteen months. The latest features improve handling of Google Meet within Google Classroom. Now when you use the Meet link within Google Classroom students will […]
An Update to Google Meet Call Quality
One of the most annoying things to start any video call is the process of resolving sound quality issues like a persistent echo. Google recently announced an update to Google Meet to address that problem. Google Meet will now notify you when your audio is causing an echo for others. In other words, even though […]
Annotate Meet – One of My New Favorites in 2021
I’m taking this week to recharge and get ready for the next session of the Practical Ed Tech Virtual Summer Camp. For the next few days I’m going to highlight some of my favorite new and new-to-me tools so far this year. Annotate Meet is a Chrome extension that lets you draw on your screen during […]
15 Updates Coming to Google Workspace for Education
This week Google announced a bunch of updates that will be coming soon to Google Workspace for Education products. If you missed them, as I did earlier this week, here’s a short summary of the key updates to note. File / Video Security Updates Some shared files in your Google Drive will require using a […]
More Virtual Background Options in Google Meet
Last fall Google added options for blurring your background in Google Meet and using your own pictures as backgrounds in Google Meet. This week another background option was added to Google Meet. You can now use videos as virtual backgrounds in Google Meet. Right now the options are limited to just videos provided by Google. […]
An Easier Way to Share in Google Meet
Last week a new menu option appeared in Google Slides, Docs, and Sheets. That new menu appears just to the left of the share button in Slides, Docs, and Sheets. It’s icon resembles and upload icon, but it’s not an upload option. The new option is to present to a Google Meet meeting. With just […]
Google Meet Transcripts Automatically Saved as New Google Docs
For Google Meet users one of the easiest ways to improve the accessibility of your live online instruction is to enable captions during your meetings. A transcript of those captions can be quite helpful to students who miss the meeting and or those who want to revisit the highlights of the meeting. Google Meet Transcripts […]
How to Download Google Meet Video Call Recordings
A few months ago Google introduced the option for teachers to record Google Meet video calls in some versions Google Workspaces. If you have that option and your school allows it, recording a Google Meet is a good way to save a lesson and publish it for students who missed the first time to go […]
How to Make Sure Students Aren’t Unsupervised in Google Meet Video Calls
Google Workspace for Education users finally have a way to make sure that students aren’t hanging out in a Google Meet without a teacher. Yesterday afternoon Google announced that teachers can now end Google Meet calls for all participants at once. Now when hosts leave a Google Meet call they will see an option to […]
Some of my Favorites – Jamboard in Google Meet
This week is school vacation week here in Maine. I usually take this week off to go ice fishing on Moosehead Lake. Unfortunately, that’s not happening this year. Instead I’ll be “staycationing” and working on some projects around home. While on my staycation I’ll be sharing some of my personal favorite tools. The integration of […]
Muted Notifications During Google Meet Calls
There’s a new Google Meet feature that those who utilize pop-up notifications will probably like. Now when you’re sharing your screen in a Google Meet call, Chrome will automatically mute and hide pop-up notifications from things like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Keep. It will also mute notifications from non-Google services like Slack and Intercom. […]
New Google Meet Tools to Help You Improve Call Quality
Google has added a new tool to Google Meet to help you answer the question, “why is Google Meet call quality so bad?” Now when you’re in a Google Meet call you can click on the little “three dot” menu in the bottom-right corner of the screen and you’ll find a “Troubleshooting and Help” menu. […]
Video – How to Annotate Your Screen in Google Meet
Last week I wrote a blog post about drawing on or annotating your screen during a Google Meet call. The way to do that is to use a free Chrome extension called Annotate Meet. Annotate Meet lets you draw on top of any tab or window that you share during a Google Meet. What I […]
Draw on Your Screen in Google Meet
Annotate Meet is a Chrome extension that lets you draw on your screen during a Google Meet call. A reader named Eli mentioned it to me a couple of weeks ago so I gave it a try. Annotate Meet provides you with a small set of tools that you can use to draw or type […]
How to Quickly Create a Transcript of a Google Meet Meeting
CaptionSaver Pro for Google Meet is a free Chrome extension that anyone can use to save a transcript of what is said during a Google Meet meeting. When the extension is installed it will automatically enable captioning of your meeting and it will automatically generate a transcript of those captions. It’s easy to install and […]
Quickly Create Polls and Quizzes in Google Meet With Edu-pal
Edu-pal is a new Chrome extension developed by students for teachers and students to use with Google Meet. The extension was recently featured on Product Hunt and I gave it a try earlier this week. It worked as advertised and is an extension that I’d recommend to any teacher who is looking for a quick […]
Five Ideas for Online Breakout Room Activities
Breakout rooms in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet provide a good way to get students talking and working in small groups. For some students, talking to a couple of classmates in a small breakout room is a lot less intimidating that talking to you “in front” of the whole class. Small breakout rooms give […]
How to Create Breakout Rooms in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet
Breakout rooms can be useful to get students talking and working in small groups in a virtual class meeting. Here are directions for creating breakout rooms in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. How to Create Breakout Rooms in ZoomTo create breakout rooms in Zoom you’ll first need to make a small change in your […]
Google Made Some Meet Settings Sticky
Google has steadily added features to Google Meet throughout the fall (spring for my friends in the southern hemisphere). The latest feature is one that should prove to be a time-saver for some teachers. The latest update to Google Meet makes some settings “sticky” after you implement them. Now when you disable screen sharing and […]
Ten Google Meet Features for Teachers – Fall 2020 Update
Back in the late winter/ early spring of this year I published an overview of Google Meet features you should know how to use for teaching online classes. Since then Google has updated old features and introduced new ones. To reflect the updates made since the spring I created this new video overview of ten […]
How to Use and Adjust Grid View in Google Meet
In my unofficial tech support role at my school I get asked a lot of questions. Now that we’re back to 100% online teaching and learning those questions are coming as emails instead of as “hey Richard” questions in the hallway. One of the questions I got this morning was about viewing all students in […]
A New Google Meet Feature That Brings Order to Class Meetings
Does it ever feel like conducing an online class meeting is an exercise akin to herding cats? Between making sure that every kid can hear you and then making sure that they don’t talk over each other or you, managing an online class meeting is challenging. Fortunately, Google has just announced a new feature that […]
Bulk Acceptance of “Knocks” in Google Meet
Some Google Meet users may have noticed a handy little update that was rolled-out yesterday. You can now accept “knocks” in bulk in Google Meet. This means that when students knock to join a class in Meet you can accept all of them at once instead of having to manually accept each individual student. While […]
The Easiest Way to Use Jamboard in Google Meet
A few weeks ago Google announced that Jamboard would be integrated into Google Meet. Earlier this week that finally happened in all of my Google accounts. This makes it easier than ever to use Jamboard in Google Meet. The old method that I used was fine, but the new integration is so much easier. In […]
Two New Helpful Features in Google Meet
Since the summer Google has been teasing us with announcements of new features “coming soon” to Google Meet. Some of those features are finally starting to arrive. Two of them that I recently got access to are background blurring and meeting controls. With background blurring enabled everything behind me is blurred. With the meeting controls […]
The Month in Review – The Most Popular Posts
Good morning from Maine where colorful leaves and the wind tell us that fall is in full force on the last day of September. On a personal note, it has been a stressful end to the month as my school went from a hybrid model of some students online to a 100% online model in […]
The Week in Review – Trolls, Jam, and YouTube
Good morning from Maine where I’m waiting for the sunrise on what is supposed to be another gorgeous fall day. I’m planning to play outside with my family and go for a bike ride. I hope that you have something fun planned for the weekend as well. This week I once again joined Rushton […]
Jamboard is Now Integrated Into Google Meet
Back in June Google started teasing the possibility of Jamboard being integrated into Google Meet. The possibility has come to fruition as yesterday afternoon Google announced that Jamboard is now integrated into Google Meet. Jamboard can be launched inside of Google Meet by opening the small sandwich menu (the three little dots in the […]
Blurred Backgrounds and Custom Grids in Google Meet
Yesterday, I shared news about a new teacher control in Google Meet. Today, there are two more new Google Meet features to note. The latest announcements from Google about Meet carried the news that you’re now able to customize the grid view in your meetings and you can now blur your background in Meet. Both […]
Google Adds Another Control for Teachers Using Google Meet
Eleven days ago Google announced the launch of new Google Meet controls for teachers. Those new controls were the ability to specify who can or cannot share screens in a Google Meet meeting. This week Google announced the launch of another meeting control for teachers using Google Meet. The latest update to Google Meet introduces a […]
Google Adds More Teacher Controls for Google Meet – Yay!
In terms of meeting controls Google Meet has lagged behind Zoom all year. Google is making efforts to close that gap. Last month they introduced some new controls and yesterday they introduced another control option for teachers. The latest control option added to Google Meet lets teachers specify whether or not students can share their […]
Watch You Watched in August
My YouTube channel has nothing but short screencast videos on it (mostly made with Screencast-o-matic) but it keeps growing. More than 28,0000 people now subscribe to it. In August those 28,000 people watched nearly 15,000 hours of my videos. These were the ten most-watched videos on my YouTube channel in August. Zoom Tip – How […]
The Five Things I’ve Been Asked About the Most at the Start of the New School Year
Every week I receive dozens of emails from teachers asking me for advice on all kinds of things related to education and technology. Many of those questions get answered during Two Ed Tech Guys Take Questions and Share Cool Stuff on Thursday afternoons. Many of the questions I answer directly via email. As many of the […]
How to Use Nicknames in Google Meet – And Why You Should Try It
One of the best features of Google Meet is one that is front and center at meet.google.com but is often overlooked or misunderstood. That feature is the option to give your meeting a nickname. Using a meeting nickname in G Suite for Education is an excellent alternative to displaying and using the Google Meet link […]
How to Use Grid View in Google Meet – No Chrome Extensions Required!
For months teachers have asked for a grid view option in Google Classroom without having to use a Chrome extension. That wish is starting to be granted. In Google Meet there is now an option to display all meeting participants in a grid view. The grid can be up to a 7×7 display. Enabling the […]
Five Current Google Meet Features to Note
Last week Google announced a bunch of additional features that will be coming to Google Meet later this fall. Before those appear in your Google account, here are five other features of Google Meet that you should how to use. Meeting Nicknames: This feature allows you to choose a nickname for your meeting in place […]
New Google Classroom and Google Meet Updates to Note
This afternoon Google announced the launch of some helpful new Google Classroom features. Some of these were teased back in June. A couple of the new features will require some work by your domain administrator while others are available right now to all teachers. Here’s an overview of the new Google Classroom features that I […]
Get Organized With Google Classroom, Meet, and Calendar
Like a lot of you, I’ll be using Google Classroom, Google Meet and Google Calendar more than ever before this fall. I’ve been using these tools for years, but I know that many of you will be using them extensively for the first time. This Wednesday at 4pm ET I’m hosting a webinar for you! […]
Stream Multiple Sources at Once With OBS Studio
Last week I got an email from a reader who was looking for a means to stream or broadcast from multiple sources. Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams can do that if you use screensharing. There are other tools available that provide a bit more “professional” level of mixing sources into your broadcast than what […]
Anonymous Users Blocked from Google Meet in G Suite EDU
A couple of weeks ago Google announced that seven new features would be added to Google Meet over the coming months. According to an announcement on the G Suite Updates Blog the first of those started to roll out today. Starting today anonymous users will automatically be prevented from joining or asking to join Google […]
5 Things You Should Never Do In Virtual Staff Meetings
We’re halfway through 2020. This week I’m taking some time off from the blog to work on some other projects. The rest of this week I’m going to re-run some of the most popular posts and videos of the year so far. This was a post that I wrote for fun and to vent a […]
7 New Google Meet Features for Teachers
In a move that clearly is an attempt to match the functionality of Zoom and Microsoft Teams, Google has announced some new features that will soon be coming to Google Meet for G Suite for Education users. All of the new features that were announced address the many concerns about Google Meet that teachers have […]
Tips & Tricks for Using Zoom and Google Meet – Free Webinar Tomorrow
Tomorrow at 5pm ET/ 2pm PT Rushton Hurley from Next Vista for Learning is hosting the next installment of his Activities Across Grade Levels series. Tomorrow’s free webinar is all tips for improving your use of Zoom and Google Meet with students. You can register for the webinar here. Recordings of all previous installments in […]
Another Whiteboard Option for Google Meet Users
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how to use a whiteboard in Google Meet without screensharing. That method featured using a neat tool called Whiteboard Fi. Some people have had great success using that method and others have asked me for other options. That’s what this post will address. Google’s Jamboard is available […]
Tactiq – Record the Captions in Google Meet
Tactiq is a new Google Chrome extension that lets you record the captions generated by the automatic captioning tool in Google Meet. You can use it to record and save all captions or select just some captions to save. When the conversation in Google Meet is over, you can save the captions as a text […]
Use Whiteboards in Google Meet Without Screensharing
On Monday I published a blog post about a new online whiteboard tool called Whiteboard Fi. At the end of that post I mentioned that it could be used in conjunction with Google Meet to give your students a prompt then have them reply on a whiteboard without having to fumble around with screensharing. In […]
5 Things You Should Never Do In a Virtual Staff Meeting
At this point we’ve all had our fill of virtual staff meetings. Hopefully, all of yours are going as well as possible. But even the best virtual staff meetings still have “that one person” who doesn’t quite understand the norms of a virtual staff meeting. That’s what inspired my list of 5 Things You Should […]
Google Meet Gets a Grid View and Higher Quality Video Sharing
One of the things that many people like about Zoom is the ability to see all participants in a call in a grid on your screen. (It makes me feel like I’m in the opening scene of The Brady Bunch). Now Google is going to offer that ability as a native part of Google Meet. […]
How to Quickly Incorporate Google Meet Into Google Classroom
Thanks to a Tweet from Chris Pirkl yesterday evening I learned that Google has now made it easier to post Google Meet links in Google Classroom. In fact, now you can now have a Google Meet link permanently assigned to each of your classrooms with Google Classroom. This means that you can have the same […]