Google Meet Video Conferencing Is Now Free for Anybody

By Fred Sagwe GEG Kenya leader

"We designed Meet to operate on a secure foundation, providing the protections needed to keep our users safe,their data secure,and their information,"

Javier Soltero , VP of G Suite

We know that education is the only effective long term solution to the problems we face navigating the complex and uncertainties of the modern world.

In the age of COVID-19 ,it's not surprising that workers are increasingly using video conferencing tools.Remote teaching and learning,have very quickly become a reality for teachers around the world.

This coveted space that has become the formal mode of communication in schools,work spaces or even casual settings like online birthday parties.For Education Leaders who are overseeing the transition to distance learning,PD resources are more important than ever.

With emphasize on how to mitigate, discuss strategies and best practices for planning development and delivery of virtual professional development when educators need it most.

Remote work has become increasingly necessary for public safety and well-being-which makes staying connected,even while we're apart,more important than ever.

Technology,that connects us,while we're apart helps keep us safe and productive.Over the past few months,we've seen the power of video meetings bring us together-whether we're working with teammates, talking to healthcare professionals,sharing with loved ones,or distance learning from home.

That calls for action on how school management shall change to reflect the new dynamics and prepare for the future of work.

Google Classroom preferred e-Learning platform in Kenya

Recently,Google Classroom was appraised as the most sought and used remote learning

tool by teachers,students and parents in Kenya by the respectable daily newspaper the Daily Nation.At the same time Google announced that it was making its video meeting tool for customers available for free to everyone.

Google Meet is a pure video conferencing solution.It makes easy to set-up and join meetings on PCs as well as on mobile devices.
Google Meet is Google’s video-conferencing solution for workplaces, schools, and other organizations with G Suite accounts. It’s the new name for Hangouts Meet.

The free meetings can be scheduled up to 100 people that can last any amount of time.After September,free

accounts will be limited to meetings that don't run longer than 60 minutes.

Google Meet also provides cross-app integration, making it easy to create and join meetings from the Meet, Google Calendar,and Gmail web pages and Android / iOS apps.Meeting link URLs or codes,dial-in by phone numbers,and through proprietary Google Meet hardware like Chromebox and Chromebase for meetings devices.

Additionally,users need a Google account to use Google Meet.Because of wide adoption in enterprise as well as education , Google Meet features robust security and encryption and is built to scale.

GEG Kenya

GEG Kenya ( Google Educator Groups Kenya) is part and parcel of the Google inspired global Google Educator Communities ,which gives support to the teachers ,students and communities,using and amplifying the G Suite for Education.They volunteer and support educators through in-person and online modes of learning.

GEG's provide a platform for educators to collaborate with one another,allowing them to pick up new creative ideas from one another,and to help each other best meet the needs of their students with Google solutions.

Anyone is very welcome to join GEG. You may be a principal,a school administrator, a professor,a student,or just someone interested in using Google products to help people learn.Each group is organized by a local volunteer (GEG leader) and is entirely independent from Google the corporation.

An epic 2 days @GoogleForEdu,hands-on skills,Kenyan educators training.Led by a a partner from London & @GEGKenya at the Google Kenya Headquarters, #GrowwithGoogle.

Image Credit: GEG Kenya

GEG Kenya,started way back as GEG Nairobi,in the year 2015,to volunteer,assist and empower:local teachers,students and communities in Kenya. Actualize on the G Suite for Education productivity tools, capacity building and teacher professional development.

There has been a tremendous growth of active, GEG's sprouting in Kenya; for example GEG Nakuru,GEG Laikipia,GEG Mombasa and GEG Nyeri e.t.c.

In the year 2019, GEG Kenya in collaboration with the head of Google Educator Group UK, Jeminatu Alabi-Isama,on behalf of the Google for Education initiatives,organized a two day professional development for the Kenyan teachers at the Google Kenya headquarters.

About 30+ teachers were facilitated with free Google for Education- Level 1 exam vouchers .This in tandem with the GEG Kenya, avowed aim is to at least empower over 300,000+ teachers and about 8.5 million learners get certified in the G Suite for Education productivity tools and services.

GEG Kenya offers support remotely and in-person to the Kenya students,teachers,parents and communities.The following are some of the area of specialization: G Suite training for schools , Gmail ,Google classroom,Google Forms , Google sites , Google CS First ,Google Online Safety ,Digital Citizenship and Safety Course , Google Map and Earth , Google Expeditions , Google Docs , Google Groups , Google Meet and YouTube e.t.c.

Apparently, GEG Kenya applauds all the educators who took the exam.In particular our GEG Nairobi leader:Bernadette Kiarie,who has done a tremendous work to the community, and made it proud by passing the Google Certified Educator Level 1 and Level 2 certifications .
With the ultimate aim of attaining the Google Certified Trainer and Innovator certifications respectively.
Anybody is FREE to join the GEG Kenya community by signing up , through writing to the community email address.Our Google Group and website,May be make a text/call,.Connect via WhatsApp and Telegram messenger groups.Follow our:Twitter , YouTube channel and blog.

Google Meet

Google Meet is free to anyone with a Google account and allow meetings of up to 100 people with no time limits.

It shall last for 60 minutes for free accounts,as from the 30th September,2020.And Meet is adding about 3 million new users daily, according to Google, recently passing 100 million daily Meet meeting participants.

According to Google,you can't just click a link to join a Meet; you'll have to log in to your Google account.If the meeting host ( Meet host?)has not invited you,you'll be sent to a waiting area until the host approves you.The free version of Meet won't have dial-in landline numbers for meetings.

Meet allows up to 100 participants on a call at once,and includes features such as scheduling,screen sharing and real-time captioning.

Google also laid out a number of default privacy protections in place with Meet, including host controls like the ability to admit or deny entry to a meeting,and mute or remove participants),complex meeting codes and encryption in transit.

Google had built-in default-on protections to keep meetings safe.This include anti-hijacking controls for both web video meetings and telephone dial.Meet is designed, built and operated to be secure at scale-for every one.

Anyone with a Google Account will be able to start,join and schedule a Google Meet call for free.

16 Participants in a Meet

See up to 16 participants in the Meet meetings,with a tiled layout for larger calls,the expanded tiled layout now let's web users simultaneously see up to 16 participants.

Users now have the option to present a Chrome tab instead of just presenting their window or entire screen.All these features use technologies like Google AI to improve meeting quality and user experience.

Image Credit: Google

Sign Up

Once you sign up , here's how to use the free version of Google Meet.

1.Go to ( meet.google.com ) ( or, open the app on iOS or Android,or start a meeting from Google Calendar how to start)).

2.Click Start new meeting,or enter your meeting code.

3.Choose the Google account you want to use.

4.Click Join meeting.You"ll have the ability to add others to your meeting,too.

a.) Gmail

Google Meet is now getting integrated directly into Gmail to make it much easier to start video calls.

By integrating Meet directly into Gmail,it puts its video calling service in direct view of its users at all times.

Gmail is already pretty well equipped with quick access tools such as ability to easily create calendar invites and share them within the service.

Meeting option is popping up the Gmail side bar to make it easier for people to start a video conference call from the email service.

Google has made its Meet video conferencing app accessible directly from Gmail, allowing users to join meetings without switching between apps.

According to the Google blog post.The goal is to help one follow the flow of the day, seamlessly switching between email and video meetings-whichever form of communication you need.

Options to start or join a meeting are available in the left hand panel of Gmail.When starting a meeting,a new window opens with a "secure, unique" URL.

b.) Google Meet Integration in Google Classroom

Google Classroom and Google Meet Google Meet are integrated such that you can start a class from the site.

Google Classroom is the place to host all your classwork and documents.Google Classroom is the front page for your drive and allows you things that are in your drive to others who are enrolled in the class.

Classroom allows you to send out documents and work to be done via.Assignments .

Classroom has different options for types of tasks to set Questions, Docs,Sheets,Quiz and anything that can be linked ( e.g A Meet ).

c.) Google Calendar

Ability to schedule a video meeting from Calendar through an invite to the participants.

d.) Live Stream a Video Meeting

How do enable Google Meet up live stream.Be able to record a Google Meet meeting and save it to Google Drive .Record a Google Meet meeting and save it to Google Drive and more.

New ability to live stream

is limited to G Suite Enterprise users and requires that organizers enable live streaming on a Calendar meeting and invite participants. It is also available to G Suite Enterprise for Education customers, with free licenses not eligible for recordings or live streaming.

A link will then be generated with each stream supporting 100,000 in-domain users either on the web or mobile device. Visually, watchers will see a video player that is identical to YouTube’s( GEG Kenya's YouTube channel)

. In the coming weeks, users will be able to watch live streams from dedicated Hangouts Meet hardware.

However, this service can handle larger meetings with up to 250 participants per call. For live streaming, it can accept up to 100,000 viewers within a domain. Interestingly, all meetings can be recorded on Google Drive for future broadcasts.

Google Jamboard: Collaborative Digital Whiteboard

There's something valuable about physically writing something down—or drawing it on a whiteboard .In fact, a study from Indiana University indicates that writing things down can help our brains function better in a whole host of ways, including "idea composition and expression."

You think best when you're writing something out, why writing seems to improve memory, and why the best collaboration often happens around a whiteboard

According to Wikipedia Jamboard is an interactive whiteboard developed by Google, as part of the G Suite family. It was officially announced on 25 October 2016. It has a 55" 4K touchscreen display, and has compatibility for online collaboration through cross-platform support.

Google Loon Balloons

With the rise in mobile and Internet rate penetration in Kenya .There is a need to to develop connectivity to schools and communities in Africa. Alphabet-owned Google 'Loon' Internet has launched the first balloons that will provide its first ever commercial connectivity services to Kenyans.

Loon is working with partner Telkom Kenya to provide services to that's network's subscribers in the country.It's balloons fly at a height of roughly 65,000 feet,in the Earth's stratosphere,with the goal of providing stable,reliable and fast connectivity to a specific area without requiring satellites and with access for remote areas not served by ground cell tower infrastructure.

Google Applied Digital Skills

Google Applied Digital Skills , allows you to teach and learn practical digital skills using free video - based curriculum ..

Comments

Kiarie B.11 May 2020 at 22:43
Well done GEG Kenya
cooltech.blogspot.com12 May 2020 at 22:11
Incredible Google Meet! https://apps.google.com/meet/
cooltech.blogspot.com8 June 2020 at 12:30
What Is Google Meet,and How Can You Use It for Free?

https://www.howtogeek.com/673876/what-is-google-meet-and-how-can-you-use-it-for-free/

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