Previously Google’s flagship video conferencing platform, Google Meet, was rolled out in the autumn of 2020 as the free replacement for Hangouts.
Green Room added to Google Meet
To help avoid adding to the long list of video conferencing faux pas, Google Meet announced a new “Green Room” feature.
This is a pre-flight check before you enter a meeting to ensure that lighting and sound are OK. You’re sitting the right distance from the webcam and the background, and you are presentable.
The feature is a great addition to preview your set up and ensure you are ready to enter the meeting without any embarrassing technical hitches and looking professional. It is also an excellent way to check the impact of noise cancellation, if available, and your bandwidth.
The green room pre-video checking feature followed on from the previous month’s addition of a new troubleshooting and help menu. This menu aims to resolve problems and provide useful tips to make meetings a success.
October 8, 2020 - New safety and collaboration features
Google Meet announced a raft of new online teaching features to help educators manage classes better and stay connected with students.
Among the new tools was the introduction of Jamboard, a digital whiteboard, to help make lessons more interactive. Both teachers and students can use the whiteboard to collaborate on lessons.
Breakout rooms allow teachers to split students into smaller groups for group work and separate discussions.
Voice and video calling
Encrypted traffic
Chat feature
Low light video mode
Screen-sharing
Google Contacts and Google Calendar integration
Recording option
Google Meet is now a much better tool for business than its Hangouts predecessor when it comes to presentations and webinars.
It was formerly part of G Suite, but in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic was spun out as a free product.
High-quality video
One-click meeting access from Google apps
Host meetings with up to 100 people
Easy to use minimalist interface
Susceptible to freezing when there’s low bandwidth
Google Meet is free, but you can only login with a Google account. It is not a separate app but is web-based and has a companion free mobile app for those on the move.
Anyone can create a meeting and invite others. The only limitation is that all the participants need a Google account to login to access the meeting.
As Google Meet is also part of Google Workspace, you can use the software in there too. If you cannot open a meeting within Workspace, you will need to contact your administrator to turn on Meet for your company or organization.
You also need to sign in to your Google Workspace account to set up a video conference meeting. Anyone with the meeting link can join.
You will need either the Meet mobile app, the Gmail mobile app, or a supported browser for the meeting. As well as a broadband connection, you will also need a built-in webcam or USB camera to participate in video calls.
