With their myCI accounts, students can use Google Meet as a tool to collaborate and meet with their peers in an online space using a variety of features including sharing screens, virtual whiteboards, and more.
Some great reasons to use Google Meet are for group meetings, study sessions, and quick one-on-one meet-ups. Google Meet is easy and allows for quick new meeting set up, making it convenient to set up meetings with other students using your myCI accounts.
Accessing Google Meet
You can access Google Meet through your myCI portal under Services, using the Google Apps Menu, or visiting the Google Meet webpage and signing in using your myCI email.
Tip! Pin the service tab in myCI for easy access the next time you want to use Google Meet.
How to Set Up or Join a Google Meet
You have three options when creating a new meeting.
- Create a meeting for later – This option generates a meeting link and pin to send to the people you want to meet with. Be sure to save it so you can use it later too.
- Start an instant meeting – This option will immediately generate a live meeting. To add others, share the pin or Google Meet link.
- Schedule in Google Calendar – This option will open up your Google Calendar where you will be able to set the date, time, co-hosts, and guests of the meeting. Once you select Save, a meeting email invite will be sent out to guests where they can accept the meeting and have it added to their Google Calendar.
You can join a meeting by entering a shared pin or Google Meet link in the space next to New Meeting.
Extra! You are also able to invite people into a live meeting using the “Add people” button on top of the meeting participants list. Simply add their Gmail or Google affiliated account and Google Meet will send an email inviting them to the call.
Helpful Tools and Settings While Using Google Meet
During a Google Meet session, access Google Meet’s tools by selecting the three dots towards the bottom of your screen.
Select the microphone to mute or unmute yourself.
Select the camera icon to turn off or on your camera.
To quickly turn on captions, select the CC icon. Please note: All participants must have their captions on for Google Meet to capture their voices and display the captions on their screen.
Google Meet has a raise your hand feature that allows you to not immediately interrupt the meeting. A hand icon will appear on your screen tile and next to your name in the list of meeting participants. Once you are acknowledged, you may lower your hand by selecting the hand icon again.
You may choose to share your screen during your meeting. Google Meet allows you to share your entire screen, a specific window, or a single tab when presenting.
Under the more options button, you may find the following tools:
- Whiteboard – Use Jamboard to visualize your ideas on a virtual whiteboard. A link to the Jam will be sent to everyone in the call. This tool is great for jotting down visuals and/or notes to share with those on the Google Meet
- Change Layout – You are able to change your view of the meeting using different layouts. Here you are able to adjust the sizing of the tiles and what to spotlight during the Google Meet. Selection is automatically saved for future meetings.
- Full Screen – This allows you to quickly set Google Meet to full screen and/or exit full screen.
- Open Picture-In-Picture – Using picture-in-picture lets you stay in the call while you do other things.
- Apply Visual Effects – Select from a range of backgrounds and styles provided by Google Meet.
- Turn on Captions – Google Meet offers real-time captions. Please note that the voice transcription is not perfect in capturing every word and accurate punctuation every time. The language of the meeting can be changed in settings under captions.
- Use a Phone for Audio – Google Meet calls your phone so you can use it to listen and speak to the video call. When you answer the call, press 1 to connect to the call. You can either enter your phone number or dial in.
Access more tools to the right of your Google Meet screen:
Select the information icon to view the meeting joining info (meeting link, dial-in number, and pin number).
View the participant list by selecting the people icon. You can add people by sending instant email meeting invites to quickly add more people.
By selecting the chat icon, meeting participants can send messages that can only be seen by people in the call and are deleted when the call ends.
The activities icon allows you to open up a whiteboard (using Jamboard) to collaboratively brainstorm and sketch ideas. The link will be instantly shared in the chat for others to collaborate.
As the host, you will see an extra icon on the right side of your screen. Here you have access to the host controls that allow for meeting moderation.
For more information about using Google Meet, check out the Google Meet Help Center.
