This was a session I went to during our Google Academy! I have been wanting to learn about Google Hangouts, so I was so excited to attend this one. My colleague and I have been talking about having review/question sessions for students using Hangouts. Essentially, you can have virtual office hours using Hangouts. A Hangout would also be really useful for students that are out of your classroom due to illness or suspension. I will structure this as a FAQ on Hangouts (of the questions I was frequently asking in my head...)
What is Google Hangouts?
It is kind of like Skype or any other video chat, but it is a FREE group video chat/conference. You can have up to 15 people in a Google Hangout (though you can't see that many faces at one time). You can also chat, screenshare, and record the Hangout. You can invite people and schedule them for specific times.
How do I get to Google Hangouts?
There are many ways...
-Google "Google Hangouts" (and click "Google Talk")
-go to the website https://plus.google.com/hangouts
-in Gmail, click on the Hangouts icon (quotation marks in a speech bubble)
-on your Google+ page, click on the Hangouts icon
-get the Google Hangouts extension, then click on your extension icon
-One click Google Hangouts extension immediately opens a Hangout
-create an event in your Community
-create an event on your calendar
What do I need to access Google Hangouts?
-internet access
-a Google account (so does anyone you want to invite)
-be logged into your Google account
What else would be useful (but not necessary)?
-a camera (if you want to be visible)
-a microphone (if you want to be heard)
-a Google+ account (if you want to access that way)
-a Google community (if you want to reach people to invite quickly)
What are the types of Google Hangouts?
-Basic Hangout--quick and easy, click on your friend and click the video camera icon
-Hangout Event--schedule it at a certain time, create in your calendar, from your Community page
-Google On Air--a hangout that is recorded so that you can post to youtube (may or may not have other people)
What is Google+ and how is it related to Hangouts?
Google+ is a social network, kind of like Facebook. You can create circles with contacts and invite those circles to a Hangout. I am thinking it would be quickest to invite my students to a Hangout by creating a circle for each class (you can search for a circle to invite and everyone in the circle will be invited). Note: everyone you invite to a Hangout will get an email notification.
What is a Google community and how is it related to Hangouts?
Google Communities are like Facebook groups. People can join and see things that you post. For instance, my colleague made a Community for her class. You can create a Hangout event in your community that members of the community will be able to see as a link on your Community page. You can also have an option to invite your entire community when creating a hangout event (and everyone will get a link to the Hangout).
How do I create a Hangout Event?
There are a few different ways to do this...
-create an event from your Community page--add a Hangout by clicking "event options" then "advanced"
-create an event from your Google Calendar and click "Add video call"
-create a Hangout and send everyone the link for the Hangout
What can you do in a Google Hangout?
-chat
-screenshare
-capture (take a pic--it will tell you if someone in the Hangout is taking a picture)
-fun effects (add silly stuff to the hangout view screen)
-youtube (share a video)
-draw (draw in the hangout view screen)
Tips and tricks
-you can mute the video--if you have a photo associated with your account, it will show instead of the video stream
-you can mute the sound--your image will be focused on when you make sound (make sure to un-mute if you want to talk!)
-you will get feedback if you are near the people in your hangout, use microphone muting to help with this
More resources
www.google.com/+/learnmore/hangouts
