Let's Chill and Hangout! (Google Tip)

As a mobile employee--being in 5 different school districts as well as having an office not located at a central location, I learned quickly the value of mobile technologies for communication beyond the simple phone call. One of my favorites is Google Hangouts.

Hangouts is part of Google+, Google Apps and allows for videoconferencing/chatting with up to 10 different people for FREE.  Hangouts opens up a new world of face-to-face contact with groups of people/collaborators.  Think Skype (limited to person to person contact) on steroids.

Additionally, since most school districts are moving to Google Apps in one form or another (including student accounts), Hangouts is included with the package, browser-based--no software downloads necessary, and runs on virtually any browser or platform.  There's even a Chrome app/extension for it!  IPad/IPhone users are also able to "hangout" and Google is putting more effort into their iOS apps even as we speak.

Professionally, I use Hangouts to collaborate and coordinate with my colleagues.  I am not a phone person and prefer email (or blogs!) and face-to-face conversations.  Hangouts suits me needs expertly...FREE, no software needed, multi-platform.  There is also a "share" feature with Hangouts that allows for quick sharing of documents, YouTube videos, links, screen shots, etc...for collaborative efforts.

Two Examples for Personal Experience

1.  I had a grant meeting scheduled for one afternoon.  In the morning, I need to be in-district and after school I was running a seminar in the same district.  The meeting was taking place over Distance Education equipment across the state.  Instead of driving from the district I was in, to my office, then back to my district...about 2.5 hours of driving, I used a Hangout with my tech "buddy", aimed a laptop at the DE TV, adjusted the microphone to the laptop speakers (at the office) and was able to view and converse with everyone else.  I used my Chromebook in district. 

2.  We regularly chat via Hangouts while working on Google docs and sites.  This is really the best of all worlds when it comes to working in a mobile environment.

What Can I Do With Hangouts In School?

The options are limited to your imagination...and I work with a large sampling of creative teachers.

1.  Use a Hangout to connect with students in other parts of the U.S. or world.  Global communications and connections are important.  Hangouts gives an entire new level to "pen pals."

2.  Collaborate with local schools on Science, Social Studies, Math or English projects.  For example, communities surrounding marsh areas can take water samples, air quality data, etc...and share with students in other surrounding communities.  They can compare data, make inferences and possible develop community-based plans to help the environment.

Google with Chat and Sharing

3.  Connect with experts.  If authors can't come to your school (i.e. location or funding), contact the authors via Hangouts.  Most authors, for examples, are more than willing to chat this way.  The same holds true to local business people.  Free, easy connections.

4.  Readers Theater

5.  Student-led conferences (not like parent-teacher) in which students from all over can lend expertise, interest and passion to discussions.

6.  As a teacher, the day before a big test, I would be tempted to offer virtual "office hours".  Connect with students via Hangouts to discuss problems, issues, etc...

7.  Take a class offered somewhere else.  Fancy software is not really needed any more.

8.  So many others.

If you want to test it out, let me know.