Using Google Meet for live lessons

How to use Google Meet for live streaming or video conferencing.

Overview

Google Meet is available through Google for Education on the Hwb homepage. It provides teachers with audio, video, file and screen sharing to live stream lessons with learners.

Our live-streaming and video-conferencing safeguarding guidance explains how to do this safely.

Arranging lessons using Google Meet

Google Meets can be organised for up to 100 participants, including members of staff.

There are 3 ways teachers can arrange lessons using Google Meet. You can use:

Meet in Google Classroom
Scheduled Meet in Google Calendar
Instant Meet in the Google Meet app

You must share the Class Meet link into the Classroom to allow others to join. Once you share the link, learners are able to join. You should time this for when you are ready to start the Meet.

Learners cannot start or set up a lesson.

How to arrange a lesson using a Google Classroom Meet link

Teachers and learners can use the same link for all Class meetings. The Class Meet link generates a new unique meeting code each time it is used. This means that learners cannot join until the teacher has shared the Meet link.

Create a Meet link

Click the Class settings (cog wheel icon).
Under General, click Generate Meet link. A Meet link appears for your class.
At the top, click Save.

Reset a Meet link

If you have issues with the link, you can reset it and get a new one. After you reset the link, the old link won't work.

Go to classroom.google.com.
Click the Class settings (cog wheel icon).
Next to the Meet link, click the Down arrow, Reset.

Share a Meet link with learners and teachers

Copy the Meet link and share it with learners and teachers so that they can join the lesson.

Remember to only share the link when you are ready for the meeting to start.

How to copy a Meet link

You can copy a Meet link and paste it into an assignment, question, or message.

Click the Class settings (cog wheel icon).
Next to the Meet link, click the down arrow, Copy.

You can now share this Meet link by pasting it into an announcement, assignment or question.

How to add a Meet link to an announcement

On the Stream page, click Announce something to your class.
Enter your announcement and at the bottom, click Add and then Link.
Paste the Meet link, click Add link.
Click Post.

You can also schedule the post for later or save it as a draft from the drop down next to Post.

How to add a Meet link to an assignment or question

On the Classwork page, click Create, Assignment or Question.
In the assignment or question details, click Add and then Link.
Paste the Meet link click Add link.
Click Assign or Ask.

You can also schedule the assignment or question for later or save it as a draft from the drop down next to Assign or Ask.

Starting a lesson in Google Classroom

There are 3 ways of starting the lesson from the Class.

At the top of the Stream page, under the class code, click the Meet link.
At the top of the Classwork page, click Meet.
In an announcement, question or assignment, click the link for the class video meeting.

You will then see a Meet page where you can adjust your camera, background and audio settings. Click Join now.

If you’re the first person to join the meeting, you’ll see a window to invite others. If you don’t need to invite anyone or share the meeting link, you can close this window.

When you click the Meet link, you start the meeting.

How to control when learners join the meeting

Learners can join the meeting immediately after you, if they have the link. Teachers should only share the link when ready to do so.

How to schedule a lesson using Google Calendar

If you are using the Google Calendar app, make sure that you are in your personal calendar before you start creating the scheduled lesson.

There are 3 ways to arrange scheduled lessons. You can:

click + Create in the Google Calendar app
go to the Google Calendar app, select a timeslot on the calendar
go to the Google Meet app, click New meeting and select Schedule in Google Calendar

Each option will open a new form.

Enter your lesson details.
Ensure that you have added Google Meet video conferencing
Add guests you would like to join your Meet. This can be an entire Google Class or individual Hwb accounts.
We recommend the Quick access setting is changed to off in the video call options cog to ensure that learners cannot join before the teacher.
Click Save.
Click Send to send Google Calendar invitation emails.

Only individually named invitees will receive an email invitation and an appointment in their personal Google Calendar. If an entire classroom is invited, they will not receive an email invitation.They will only receive an entry in the Class Google Calendar.

Learners cannot schedule a lesson.

Start a scheduled lesson

Go to your Google Calendar at the time of the lesson.
Click on the scheduled lesson.
Select Join with Google Meet, you will see a new window. Here you can adjust and test your camera, background and microphone settings prior to joining.
Click Join now.

Start a lesson using the Google Meet app

The Meet app is another way for teachers to create a lesson for selected learners without scheduling. This allows you to create a lesson very quickly.

You can navigate to the Meet app from the waffle on the Google Classroom tool bar.

There are 2 ways to quickly start a lesson from the Meet app.

Click New meeting and select Start an instant meeting (recommended).
Enter a nickname in the box and click Join. You will then see a Meet page where you can adjust and test your camera, background and audio settings. Click Join now.

If you do choose a nickname, please ensure that it is unique, as these nicknames could clash with other school’s meetings or lessons and cause attendees to inadvertently join the wrong meeting.

The meeting will start and the Add others window will be shown. Teachers can add people to a lesson using one of the following options:

Click Copy joining info and paste the meeting details in an email or Class Announcement or another app.
Click Add others, under the Invite section, select a name, or enter an email address and click Send email. The invited users will receive an email with joining details.

Teachers can also invite more learners and teachers to the lesson during the lesson.

Create a meeting for later option

This option is not recommended for lessons with learners. Once the meet link has been shared, teachers cannot stop learners from joining the call before them.

Invite more learners and teachers to a lesson

Once a meeting has started, teachers can add more learners and teachers to the lesson by inviting them.

Click on the People icon.
Click Add people.
On the invite tab, either select a name or enter an email address and click Send email. (The invited users will receive an email with joining details).

Meeting options

Before a meeting begins

As the lesson organiser, you should adjust options to help manage the lesson.

Lessons scheduled via Google Calendar

Quick access setting

The default value for this setting is On. We recommend changing this to Off for all meetings with learners. This prevents them from joining the meeting before the teacher.

When Quick access is set to Off, all invitees will have to wait for the teacher to admit them to the lesson. If individually named invitees try to join the call before the teacher, they will have to wait in a lobby. They will automatically join the meeting once the teacher has joined. However, if they try to join after the teacher has joined, then they will wait in the lobby like all other invitees.

You can configure the Quick access before the meeting begins. To see and change this setting:

double click on (or Edit) the specific meeting in Google Calendar
click Video Call Options cogwheel
change the Quick access setting and click Save

If required, you can change the Quick access setting after the meeting has started in Host controls.

Adjusting meeting options

As the lesson organiser, you can adjust the meeting options during the lesson to help manage the lesson.

Select Host controls icon.

You can access the Host controls for the meeting through the menu bar at the bottom of the screen.

Click More options (3 vertical dots).
Select Settings, then Host controls.

You will then have the option to turn these controls off or back on:

Quick access: when turned off, no-one can join the lesson before the teacher, and everyone must ask to join (‘knock’ to enter), including people with a Hwb email address.
Share screen: when turned off, only the host can share their screen.
Send chat messages: when turned off, only hosts can send chat messages.

Recording lessons

This functionality is now only available by purchasing Google Teaching and Learning upgrade licences.

Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals is available for free on Hwb. The Teaching and Learning upgrade can be added to Education Fundamentals to provide enhanced video communication, enriched classroom experiences, and integrated tools for more efficiency. More information on Google Workspace features is available on the Google for Education website.

Recording is only available with the computer version of Meet. Mobile app users are notified when the recording starts or stops, but cannot control recording. Only teachers can start or stop recording a lesson.

Google Teaching and Learning upgrade order process

All orders must be placed by through your local authority by 31 October.

All licences will run through to 31 August with licences purchased in the October window being pro-rata’d for cost and term.

How to start recording a lesson

Open Meet, Start or Join a meeting.
On the menu bar at the bottom of the screen, click More options (3 vertical dots) and select Record meeting, then Start Recording and Start.
Wait for the recording to start.

Other participants are notified when the recording starts or stops.

How to stop recording a lesson

On the menu bar at the bottom of the screen, click More options (3 vertical dots) and select Stop recording.
Click Stop recording in the pop up on the right and then Stop recording again to verify.
The recording also stops when everyone leaves the meeting.

Where lesson recordings are stored or sent

Go to our Recording and storing videos page for details on where Google Meet lesson recordings are stored or sent.

Camera settings

You can click the camera icon to turn your camera on or off.

Changing background

You can change your background effect before or during a call.

Before a call, in the bottom right of your picture preview, click Change Background.
If you are already in a call you can navigate to the bottom right and select More options (3 vertical dots).

Options

Blur your background.
Slightly blur your background.
Select a pre-uploaded background.

Not all browsers or devices support making changes to the background.

It is recommended that you encourage your learners to choose a background effect or blur their background. This is explained in Live-streaming safeguarding principles and practice for education practitioner s.

Audio settings

How to mute the sound of myself or learners

To mute or unmute yourself, at the bottom of the video window click Microphone icon to mute or unmute.

If you have feedback or hear background noise while in a video meeting, you might want to mute the microphones of learners.

Mute an individual learner

There are 2 ways to mute an individual learner. You can:

click on the learner’s thumbnail and select the microphone to mute
click on the People icon, select the 3 horizontal dots next to the person you want to mute, select Mute

Mute all attendees

To mute the microphones for all attendees, click on the People icon and select Mute all.

For privacy reasons, you cannot unmute another person. Ask the learner to unmute their audio.

Admitting learners to a lesson

During the lesson, a pop-up message may appear on the screen saying someone is asking to join. You can either Deny entry or Admit them to the lesson.

To ensure a learner doesn't join before you, turn off the Quick access setting. This means all learners and staff will need to be admitted to the session by the host.

The Quick access setting can be configured for lessons scheduled via Google Calendar before the lesson begins. For all other lessons, this can only configured after the meeting has started in Host controls.

Admitting external users or non-Hwb users to a lesson

It is possible for non-Hwb accounts to request to join a lesson if the meeting link has been shared (either intentionally or unintentionally).

During the lesson, a pop-up message will appear on the screen saying someone from outside Hwb is asking to join.

It is recommended that you click Deny entry, if you do not recognise the account. This will reject the request to join the lesson.

If you have accidentally admitted someone to the lesson, you can remove them from the lesson.

How to make sure learners do not enter a lesson before a teacher

The Quick access setting can be turned off to prevent learners and staff joining a lesson before the host. By default, this setting will be on.

When you change the Quick access toggle to off, learners and staff must ‘knock’ to request to join the meeting. The host will have the option of admitting learners to the lesson.

Google Calendar

Teachers should change the Quick access setting to off before the lesson starts.

Google Meet app

Teachers should change the Quick access setting to off using the Host Settings, before adding learners to the lesson.

Google Classroom

Teachers should only share the meeting link when they are ready for the meeting to start, to ensure a learner doesn't join a lesson before a teacher.

Teachers can also change the Quick access setting during the lesson using the Host Settings, if they forget to set it beforehand.

How to check who has joined a lesson

Click on the People icon in the bottom right of the screen. The number attached to the icon indicates how many people are in the live lesson. Once clicked, you will be able to see who has joined the live lesson.

Download class attendance for Google Meet

Login to Hwb and click on User Management.
Click on administration and click on Google Meet audit in the site configuration section.
Apply the filter accordingly to find the Meet you’re looking for
Click on Details to view Meet attendees.
Click download to export csv of meeting attendees.

We are not able to provide the email addresses or IP addresses of any external users. This is a Google restriction. If this information is required, the school will need to contact the police, who would then need to contact Google.

Sharing screens

How to share or present my screen

Present during a meeting

At the bottom of the screen, select Present now icon.
Select Your entire screen, A window, or Chrome tab.

If you present a Chrome tab, it shares that tab's audio by default. Select from the list of the tab you would like to share.
To present a different tab select Stop presenting and select present now icon and chrome tab and select another tab.

Select the content you'd like to share.
Click Share.
If someone is presenting, confirm that you want to present instead.

If your camera is turned on, your video is active while you're presenting.

Stop presenting

In the Meet window, click Stop Presenting or in the bottom-right corner, you can also click You are presenting, then Stop presenting.

Present if someone else is already presenting

At the bottom , select Present now icon.
Select Your entire screen, A window, or Chrome tab.
A warning will let you know someone else is presenting and ask you to confirm if you want to take over as the main presenter.
Select screen to share and click Share now.

If another participant presents their screen, you'll get a notification that your presentation is still visible to others. You can click the buttons in the notification to end or resume your presentation.

How learners can share or present their screen

Learners can present their screen using the Present now option.

Once a learner has finished presenting, teachers can remove their screen.

On the menu bar at the bottom of the screen, More options (3 vertical dots).
Select Settings, then Host controls.
Click the Share their screen toggle off and on. (This will remove all presented screens).

Learner participation

Raise hand

Click on the hand icon to raise or lower hand.

This feature allows learners to virtually raise their hand allowing you and other learners to identify when they wish to speak with a visual cue on their video feed. This makes it easier for you to manage a lesson.

Teachers can lower attendees hand via People icon and select the hand to lower.

Chat

Click on the speech bubble icon bottom right of the screen.

Meeting chat provides a space for all learners and teachers to interact via text. This function should be monitored by the teachers during the session. This provides a useful way for learners to ask questions, comment or share links without interrupting audio.

How to remove comments left by learners

Comments left in a Google Meet chat will automatically be deleted when a meeting has ended.

Comments left in the Classroom Stream can be deleted by the learner themselves or by a teacher in the classroom.

Teacher

Select the three vertical dots on the comment.
Select Delete. You will see a warning that says Comments will also be deleted. Other teachers in this class can see deleted posts.
Select Delete to complete the action.

Learners

Select the three vertical dots on the comment.
Select Delete. A warning appears that says Your teachers can see deleted posts.
Select Delete to complete the action.

Removing learners

Only the lesson organiser can remove a learner.

There are 2 ways to remove a learner. You can:

click on the learner’s thumbnail and select the delete icon to Remove from meeting
click on the People icon, select the 3 vertical dots next to the person you want to remove, select Remove from meeting

The learner cannot re-join the meeting without being re-added by using Add people under the People icon.

Ending lessons

To end a lesson, click the red telephone icon and select End the call.

You must ensure that you end the lesson in this way, as this will end the lesson for all learners and teachers.

Do not use the 'Just leave the call option', as this would allow others to continue the meeting without you.

Live captions

On the menu bar at the bottom of the screen, either Click Turn on captions or click More options (3 vertical dots) and select Turn on captions.

The captions appear at the bottom of the screen.