There is no denying it—we are in uncharted waters. For many, this pandemic has led to a sudden upending the way we teach, and for those with little to no experience with distance learning, navigating this can be overwhelming. But if we are to find a silver lining in this, we are lucky to have technology resources that allow us to safely reach our students and continue their learning in a virtual classroom.

One such resource is Google Meet. This video conferencing app allows you communicate with your students via WiFi or with a dial in (depending if the student has Internet access or not).

Teq’s OTIS for Educators recently held a course on how to use Google Meet for remote learning. (If you do not already have an OTIS account, Teq is offering free OTIS accounts to all educators and administrators during the entirety of this crisis. To access your free account, visit our Remote Learning website.)

Google Meet: an excellent tool for distance learning

Google Meet is perfect for distance learning. With this free tool you can following these remote learning strategies:

Live Online Classes

Schedule times in Google Meet to run live virtual lessons with your students. By selecting the “Meet” option, your students can communicate with you and their peers via video, audio, or text chat. If you’re overwhelmed by the idea of managing 20+ virtual students at once, you can live stream via Google Meet and give your students access to view only. Pair your video lessons with Google Classroom or SMART Learning Suite Online to distribute lesson handouts and assignments.

Student Check-ins

I for one have never experienced a time as uniquely stressful as this—and I can’t imagine that stress isn’t being felt by even our youngest students as well. Their routines have been upended and their social interactions have been drastically cut down. Because of this, it’s extremely important to check in with our students for their social and emotional wellbeing. Scheduling face to face time with your students, whether it’s 1 on 1 or in small groups, will help them to get in touch with how they’re feeling, and discuss how they’re managing their time and emotions while working from home.

Virtual Office Hours

Schedule online “office hours” with your students. Provide them with a time where they can “pop in” and receive clarification on assignments, get extra help, or just say hello.

Parent Discussions

As stressful as it is for educators, this is equally as stressful for parents. You can use Google Meet to schedule time with your students’ parents to discuss assignments, teaching strategies, and educational activities they can do at home.

Google Meet PD and other distance learning resources

For a limited time, Teq is offering all PD and instructional support on OTIS for educators for free. For more great tips and “how-tos” on using Google Meet, view Using Google Meet for Remote Learning. We are also sharing all of our PD content for using Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other distance learning tools.

For immediate assistance accessing your free OTIS for educators account, visit Teq’s Remote Learning website or call our team at 877-455-9369.