Meet & Chat

Google Meet can be used to hold video meetings/web conferences and Google Chat can be used to message other users. All users should be aware of local privacy and safeguarding policies before making use of this service. Google Chat is enabled for staff only.

Features of Google Meet in Glow #

  • Only teaching and non-teaching staff can initiate Meets. Learners can only join these. All attendees in a Meet can share their video or screen. There can be up to 100 attendees in total in a Meet
  • Host Management allows hosts to mute or remove participants in a meeting, limit who can share their screen, limit who can send chat messages, limit video sharing and end the Meet for all. There can be up to 25 hosts included from the total attendees
  • Using Classroom Meets is recommended where learners are present. All teachers are automatically co-hosts for these and the Meet will only start when a host joins. Classroom members can join once a Meet starts and any external guests must be admitted by a host
  • Simplified Access Controls are in place so meeting organisers can choose how attendees join a Google Meet.
  • Google Meet attendee options are Open, Trusted and Restricted (see below).
  • Additionally, meeting hosts can configure whether guests can join the meeting before hosts.
  • If your Local Authority/establishment has not opted-in to unauthenticated access then all anonymous users are blocked from Google Meets in Glow
  • If your Local Authority/establishment has unauthenticated access enabled then external participants do not need a Google account to join the meeting.

Open

  • Anyone with a meeting link will be able to join your meetings. 
  • No one will have to ask to join. 
  • Anyone can dial in. 

Trusted

  • Anyone within the meeting hosts’ organization will be able to join without having to ask to join (AKA knocking). 
  • Anyone outside the organization but invited via a Google Calendar event, or anyone invited from within the meeting, will also be able to join without having to ask to join. 
  • Anyone can dial in. 
  • Everybody else will have to ask to join. 

Restricted

  • Only someone who is invited via a Google Calendar event or someone invited from within the meeting by a host will be able to join. 
  • Everyone else will have to ask to join, including participants inside a host’s organization who aren’t included on the invite, and those dialling in.

Meet hints and tips #

Do

  • use Calendar invites or quick start Meets with external attendees. Keeping these separate from Classroom helps ensure that learners only join Meets where it is appropriate
  • use Classroom Meets when meeting with learners
  • have multiple staff as hosts, if possible, when learners are involved
  • use the participant list to check attendees. Use the remove attendee option if required
  • use the host controls as required. This will let you limit attendee screen sharing, video and chat
  • ensure you are the last to leave a Meet by removing all other participants or end the Meet for all
  • ensure that all users are aware of local policies.

Do not

  • invite groups of learners to Meets through Calendar or quick start Meets. Classroom is more appropriate for this. All Classroom teachers are hosts by default
  • share Meet codes or URLs with learners, ask them to use the link within Classroom
  • publish links to your meetings on public websites or Twitter as this could attract unwanted attendees. Share them using channels where you know they will more likely get to the correct people (e.g. via email)
  • change the default quick access setting. This, along with other meeting controls, will help to ensure that learners are not left unattended in meetings with external people
  • allow learners into Meets with external guests before the other guests join. This will mean you can verify if guests are the people you expect.

Help and Support #

Support on using Google Meet in this way is available through the following Google Help articles:

The video below also discusses how Meet can be integrated and used in this way with Classroom:

Some more general guidance and training for users is also available by clicking on the links below:

Guidance for Tenancy Admins #

The configuration of Google Workspace in Glow means that individual users can be assigned delegated admin roles for their tenancies. These roles have been designed to give Glow customers/ local authorities as much control over their tenancies as possible. More information can be found on the Google Workspace admin roles page.

These roles may be useful for Glow customers/ local authorities to:

Features of Google Chat in Glow #

Google Chat is available for teaching and non-teaching staff only and allows for one to one and group messaging. This is configured to make sure chats are only accessible by users within the domain and that the new Chat client is used (Classic Hangouts cannot be used through Glow).

Support is available though the Google Workspace Learning Center page.