Guidelines to Help Students Use Google Hangouts to Stay Connected

The sudden shift to remote learning since March 13 has caused students, teachers, and parents to rethink how education can be done. Teachers and students have worked together to stretch the boundaries of creativity, collaboration, and communication. Technology has played a major role in facilitating the new look of learning in Barrington 220. Whether teachers deliver live lessons, or students upload portfolios or watch video feedback, Barrington’s One to World program has helped teachers move learning forward in this unprecedented time.

One area where technology has proven invaluable is in the area of keeping students and teachers connected. Barrington 220 is using live video conferencing through Schoology Conferences, Google Hangouts, and most recently, Zoom Meetings. Among the students, Google Hangouts has proven popular for its ease of use and availability for students at every grade level. Students have used Google Hangouts to conference with teachers, but also to connect with their friends. We may not realize it until something drastic changes our perspective, but socializing with friends is one of the very real needs that school fill.

Of course, as with any technology implementation, the excitement of a new tool and the different ideas about how and when it should be used may create some frustrations. With Google Hangouts those frustrations have taken the form of students trying to connect with their friends at inappropriate times. Specifically, some students and parents have experienced Hangout requests early in the morning or late at night. In addition, repeated requests during learning time have created interruptions to the learning process. The good news is that there are steps that students and parents can take to limit the distractions that some have been experiencing by keeping a few simple guidelines in mind.

• First, parents should encourage their students to set up regular connection times with their friends that are agreed upon by everyone. By planning Hangouts when everyone is available, you can limit the possibility of interrupting learning. 
• Second, be courteous when making a Hangout request to a friend. Remember that "calling" a friend through Google Hangouts causes their iPad to make a notification noise. Unscheduled requests made early in the morning or late at night should be avoided.

Parents have two tools available that will greatly reduce the distractions caused by Google Hangouts.

1. Apple’s Screen Time feature can be used to set "downtime" for the iPad. This built-in iPad feature can be used to initiate sleep mode for the iPad to eliminate the possibility of a Google Hangout notification occurring during downtime. For example, if a parent establishes downtime from 10:00pm to 7:00am, a Hangout request after 10:00pm or before 7:00am will not set off a notification.
2. Google Hangouts has a "snooze mode" built into the Google Hangouts app. This should be used to establish uninterrupted times for when eLearning is taking place. With the Snooze feature, parents or students can "hit the snooze" for a chosen period of time to ensure uninterrupted learning. 

Google Hangouts is a fun and powerful tool that we encourage students to use to stay connected with their friends while follow the stay-at-home order. By following these basic guidelines, you can ensure that your experience with this app is positive and helpful.