Google for Education Enterprise Features Leaving Basic Accounts

Remember a few months ago when Google extended advanced features to all users in G Suite for Education? Today is September 30, 2020 which means those advanced features are going away unless your school pays for premium access. So what does this mean for you? If your school uses the basic G Suite accounts, the following things will change: 

• Meeting Size: 250 participants (premium), 100 participants (free)
• Live Streaming: up to 100k viewers (premium only)
• Recording to Google Drive: premium only

If you are losing these features, there are some free alternatives to consider. These are not perfect options, but they are free. Please check with your school's administration before doing anything to make sure you are following local policies for student privacy and protection.

Recording

If you want to record your class session or meeting, Google Meet will no longer have the option directly. You can however use a screen recording program such as Loom. Loom's education license is free and offers some great features. When you record, make sure you have checked "use system audio" to record the sound from your Google Meet call. Otherwise, you will see the video and only hear your own microphone, not the other participants.

As you know, when you screen share on a Google Meet, your screen changes and the screen's format will change. Or if you go to open up the participants/chat columns, the screen will change. I recommend if you can, use a spare computer to record. Just join the call from the second device, turn the devices mic and camera off, and hit record. This will record the Google Meet as a passive participant. If you don't have a second device just be aware of what is showing on your screen as you record.

Live Streaming

There are options such as Stream Yard which is very user friendly. The free version will leave a "Powered by StreamYard logo in the upper right corner of your stream and recording. It will connect to YouTube, Facebook, or other platforms to stream but can be set as private and/or unlisted so that it's not publicly available. Most other live streaming options will also require you to share the live stream via a third party. Additional limitations of the free version of Stream Yard include limited participation of guests.

I'd be happy to help you and your school find free alternatives to these premium features, so please leave a comment or DM me if you have any questions.

Video Conferencing: Things to Consider

Zoomed out? Tired of Teams? Sick of meeting on Meet?

At this point, you probably spend more time with your students virtually than in person. Add in staff meetings, webinars, and the majority of your work day is now on video conferencing software rather than face to face.

So now comes the bigger question... Are you using the camera and microphone built into your computer or did you go out and try to buy a camera and headset only to find out they're sold out everywhere. Even Amazon is having trouble stocking the popular/recommended products. Having the right equipment won't make you any less tired from web conferencing but it will help improve the experience for you and your students.

Whatever hardware you choose for your video conferencing software, make sure you practice using it and get comfortable before working with your students. Practice a few times to make sure you connect the hardware correctly and know where in the software settings to change it. Good luck!

Part 1: Camera

After weeks of using my computer's camera, I realized how annoying it was to position the computer where I could have a decent camera angle AND still use my computer. I finally decided to spend some money on an external camera, but at that point they were already sold out everywhere. So I looked at the features of the sold out camera and decided to try and find one that listed similar features.

Image Source: Slash Gear 

When I was doing research, I learned that most cameras now advertise 1080p but it's really the FPS (frames per second) that matter. 30FPS is the lowest you want because anything lower will look like a flipbook with lag in the motion. 60FPS is what most streamers that do video games and such look for but it's probably overkill for a teacher using web conferencing so don't panic if you only see 30FPS advertised. The final thing you want to look at is field of view. There isn't really a "best" in terms of field of view, but just know it's the angle that the camera can see.

The camera I originally bought cost $30 on Amazon during a lightning sale. I decided to try it because worst case, I'd return it for a refund. The image quality was decent but the sound was awful so I did in fact end up returning it.

Prior to publishing this post, I magically found one of those recommended cameras in stock at Target and bought it. This Logitech C920 is sold out everywhere, including Logitech's website. On eBay, it's going for around $150 due to supply and demand so I was shocked to find it in stock for under $70. Check your local Targets, Walmarts, etc. because people often forget about those stores for electronics and you might get lucky too.

Part 2: Microphone and Speakers

Although you may be tempted to buy a fancy looking microphone, I actually recommend against this for video conferencing. If you choose to go the microphone route, you'll still need earbuds or headphones for your speaker. Otherwise, you'll get feedback from the microphone "hearing" the speakers. Some of the really fancy microphones will have built in features to reduce that feedback but you will end up paying more. The easiest way to prevent the feedback is to use a headset where the input and output for sound are in the same device.

Image Source: Amazon

One recommendation that I've seen floating around many teacher sites lately is to look at buying a gaming headset. This suggestion has a few benefits for teachers.

1. Gamers tend to wear them for long periods of time so they're designed for comfort.
2. They have good sound quality since gamers tend to be picky (in a good way).
3. They seem to have plenty in stock right now.

While you may be considering a bluetooth connection so you are not tethered to your computer, remember that if you will be on webinars for long periods of time, some bluetooth devices won't have a long enough battery on a single charge. Wired headsets do not require charging to continuously work. Although some computers are short on USB ports so know your device before deciding on a sound solution.

Part 3: Displays

It doesn't matter which video conferencing software you're using. at some point, you're going to have so many windows open on your computer that you can't see everything. It's very easy to attach an extra display to your computer and expand what you are looking at. However, don't go out and buy a dedicated computer monitor. All you need is an HDMI cable (and perhaps a dongle depending on your computer). That's right, an HDMI cable. Plug your computer into a television, switch the TV's input, and volia. You are ready to use your TV as a temporary display. 

Screen shot Windows 10

Depending on your computer the method will be different, but all computers have display options so you can either mirror or expand your display. For the purpose of display real estate, you'll want to expand your display. This will allow you to act as two screens are one large screen. You can drag and rearrange windows to the different screens so that everything is visible. 

My Goals for Professional Growth

Back in January, I attended a workshop while at Microsoft about marketing yourself. It was all about how to stand out. I originally signed up to attend the session for the headshots, but realized it was much more than that. While most professionals have a non-school portrait looking image, that's not the only thing that makes people stand out. So does content.

My headshot

This week at work, I learned they want to create a marketing campaign around the professional development/training department, also known as me. I'm learning a lot from the marketing team including how to grow my own brand, not just the company.

So now, I have some goals for 2020/2021 related to personal growth.

Goal 1: In the past, I wrote blog posts when something truly impacted my professional career. Now, I plan to write at least one blog post here per month, at least for now. Eventually trying to up that to a weekly post. These posts can be something meaningful related to teaching, or even just a favorite tool.

Goal 2: Grow my YouTube channel. This will also start as a monthly goal, but hopefully grow further. The videos on my YouTube channel are all "how to" tutorials for educational technology softwares. I tend to focus on softwares that are free for teachers so that they can easily incorporate what I am showing into their teaching.

Goal 3: Post weekly to Linkedin. Previously, I only posted to celebrate professional achievements. I learned this is the wrong way to do it. I need to be more active and engaging regularly if I want to have engagement for those big events. These weekly Linkedin posts will include sharing meaningful articles about pedagogy and educational technology. It also means that I will try to interact more with what other people post, not just reshare interesting posts.

Goal 4 (eventually): I want to try and co-author a book. I just can't decide right now what topic is meaningful that I can provide new insight to. I feel that most of the topics I consider myself to be an expert on already have tons of published books. Therefore, part of my networking goal is to find someone with similar interests and expertise to collaborate with on this effort. Two heads are better than one after all.

There you have it. My professional growth goals for 2020/2021. Some will be easier than others, but my hope is that I continue to grow since my transition from classroom teacher to educational trainer.