Google Meet is an easy to use option if you are looking to hold an online meeting or virtual class, as it ties in nicely with our existing G Suite subscription and is very simple to get going. It's compatible with every modern browser (although the ubiquitous Chrome browser doesn't require any additional add-ons or plugins to work, so I'd recommend that), Chromebooks, and even smartphones.
There are two ways to hold a meeting - impromptu and scheduled.
Jump to one of the following sections:
Impromptu - Start A Meeting Now
- Head over to https://meet.google.com/ and click the "Join or start a meeting" link.
- It'll ask a meeting name. You can name this whatever you would like. People who join the meeting will see this name, so it might be helpful. Click Continue when ready.
- If this is the first time you are using this device to join a meeting, you may be asked to give permission to access your camera and microphone. You are only giving permission to https://meet.google.com and you can revoke the permission at any time in your browser's settings. To get the ball rolling for this meeting, you'll need to click allow on the prompts that appear.
- Now you should be in the meeting "lobby" where it'll tell you how many people are in the meeting, and lets you preemptively mute your microphone and camera before you begin. If you're ready, click the "Join meeting" button in the middle of the screen.
- You'll next see a box with the details of your meeting shown. Don't worry too much about them - you can access this later if you need to. But for now, close out of the window by clicking the little X in the top right corner. There's an easier way to invite people then trying to copy and paste this information.
- Click on the person icon in the top right corner.
- You'll see a panel open up on the right. Click at the top of the panel "Add people."
- You're brought to the invite screen. You can type in a name from your contacts or an email address at the top of this screen. Enter any number of email addresses here. When you are ready, click the "Send invite" button.
- You can also add people by phone as well. Instead of entering in email addresses, click the Call button at the top. Now you can enter a phone number instead, and then click the call button at the bottom of the screen.
- The meeting will call the participant. When they pick up, they'll be told they are about to enter a Google Meet meeting. Don't worry, if it goes to voicemail, you can hang up on them by using the red "hang up" button (1) on the right. If you need to dial an extension to get the person you want, you can click on the dial icon (2) to bring up a number pad so you can navigate auto attendant menus or enter an extension. If they do connect successfully, just click the X (3) in the top right corner of the call panel.
- Congratulations! You are now in the meeting. If you need to add more people, simply repeat steps 8 - 10.
To create a scheduled meeting, you'll need to do it in Google Calendar.
- Head on over to https://calendar.google.com
- Click the "Create" button in the top left corner of the screen.
- Enter the name for a meeting at the top (1), select the day and time below that (2), and just below that enter the names or email addresses of the people you wish to invite (3).
- After you enter your first guest, you will see the window change and it now shows an option to Join Hangouts Meet.
- Click Save and you'll be presented with an option to send invitations to the guests you entered. Click Send and they will not only get the Google Calendar invitation, but the details on how to join the online meeting.
- You can now join the meeting yourself at the scheduled time by visiting your calendar, clicking the meeting in your calendar, and clicking on "Join Hangouts Meet."
If you need to, jump to step three in the "impromptu" directions to review allowing your microphone, join the meeting from the lobby, and adding more participants.
Other Options When Running A Meeting
- Mute and un-mute your mic, hide and show you camera
At the bottom of the meeting window are three circle icons. The one on the left has a picture of a microphone. Click that to mute and un-mute your microphone. If the icon is red, your muted. Likewise, the icon on the right has a picture of a camera. Clicking on that will hide and show your camera. If the icon is red, others can't see you through your webcam. - Show others your screen
Instead of showing your camera, you can also choose to show you screen, if you want to demonstrate something or present a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation. Simply click the "Present now"button on the bottom right - it'll ask if you want to present your entire screen, or just a window. It'll continue to show your screen or window until you either close the window or you click "Stop presenting" in the middle of the Google Meet screen. - Record your meeting
Click the three dots in the bottom right corner and you'll see an option to record the meeting. Click it. You'll be presented with a warning that you should probably make sure everyone is aware that you're about to record this meeting. Not only is it good karma to let others know, it might also be illegal if you don't. Click Accept, and your meeting will be recorded. When the meeting is over, the recording will be saved in Google Drive. It might take a few hours for it to show up. - Mute or kick out annoying guests
If one of your guests in the meeting has annoying background music, talking during the meeting, or being a disruption some other way, you can mute their microphone or simply kick them out entirely. Click on the people icon at the top, and click on the disruptive person's name. You'll see some icons appear below their name. The center icon is a microphone; click this to mute their mic. They can always un-mute it later if they wish. The icon on the right is a "do not enter" sign and this will remove them outright from the meeting.
- Leave the meeting
You can leave the meeting by clicking the "hang up" button at the bottom of the screen, or by simply closing out the window.