Collaborate Better with Google Chat Rooms

 

A pain point I hear about often is having to dig through emails and Google Drive to find shared files. Recently, Google added Google Chat Rooms to the Google Workspace arsenal of apps. At first glance, it seems like a group chat on steroids, but in actuality, it's a tool that can enhance collaboration and help avoid having to fish through convoluted email threads and Google Drive to find files.

What makes Google Chat Rooms such a great tool for streamlining collaboration is how you only have to invite collaborators one time. Once they're in the Room, any files shared within are shared with all members. No more having to open the file, clicking Share and adding members names. In addition, you can start files right within the Room. Instead of having to search through Drive and email threads, Rooms are housed right within Gmail. Simply open the Room, scroll through the threads and click on the files you need.

Create your first room by going to Gmail and clicking the plus button next to Rooms on the left side of the screen. In the menu that pops up, click Create room.

In the pop up that appears, click in the first box to title your Room. I like to create rooms each quarter for my PLC to share agendas, presentations and planning documents. In the second box, add the names of collaborators. The two options below allow you to Use threaded replies and Allow people outside your organization to join. I recommend using threaded rep

Using threaded conversations is highly recommended. I like to create threads for different topics. In the PLC example below, the thread was titled Unit 5 Lesson Planning. As of now, you cannot officially name or title threads. In light of that, I always make the first post within a thread the title.

One of my favorite aspects of Rooms is how when I share documents, they're automatically shared with all members of the Room. No having to enter people's names or email addresses each time and hoping they open their emails to access the document. 

To share documents, there are a couple of options. If the feature is available in your domain, when you start a reply within a thread, you'll see a button (circled below) to create a Google Doc, Google Sheet or Google Slides Presentation. 

The other option is to click the Drive button seen when replying within a thread. This will initiate a pop up menu allowing you to add any file saved in your Google Drive.

When you post the file from Drive, you'll see a small pop up where you determine the file permissions for all Room members. 

With files shared in a Room thread, collaborators no longer have to go fishing through their inboxes for shared with me emails or the Shared with me folder in Drive. They simply open the room, scroll to the thread and click the file. Google Docs files can be opened within the Chat Room without having to open a new tab. Other files will open in their own separate tab.

The pandemic has forced us to find more effective ways of collaborating. More than ever, educators are using tools like Google Chat Rooms in addition to Google Classroom to collaborate in PLC's and across school sites. How might you use Google Chat Rooms?

If you have any questions and would like a follow up, contact me via Gmail or Chat at ajuarez@techcoachjuarez.com.  My book, The Complete EdTech Coach: An Organic Approach to Digital Learning, co-authored with my wife Katherine Goyette is now available on Amazon. Click here to purchase. It is published by Dave Burgess Publishing. Be sure to follow the hashtag #OrganicEdTech and #CVTechTalk for updates.

Gmail: A One Stop Shop for Educators

 

Over the years, Gmail has evolved into quite a productivity suite. It is a one-stop shop for many tasks educators do daily. It is a hub for communication, a platform for collaboration, and a tool for organization. Without having to leave the Gmail tab, you can access not just your emails, but your Chat conversations, Google Chat Rooms, schedule and join Google Meet video calls, see your Google Calendar, access Google Keep notes, use Google Tasks and view your Google Contacts information. 

Below, on the left side of Gmail, you have access to your Email, Google Chat, Google Chat Rooms, and Google Meet video calls. 

Chat, in my experience, is often an underutilized tool. In a nutshell, it's free text messaging within Gmail. You may be thinking that why would I need this when I can text on my phone. Within your school's domain, you can send a Chat message to anyone in your organization by simply knowing their name. There is no need to have everyone's phone number or switch back and forth between your computer and phone. 

Each day, we get many emails. Many of these emails are quick, informal messages asking a quick question that are better off as a text message. Instead of cluttering your inbox with informal text messages, let those messages be handled by Chat. This will free up your Gmail inbox for formal communication from colleagues and admin. Using chat for informal communication will make it less likely that you will miss an important email. 

As you use Chat more, below your Gmail Inbox and Labels, you'll see a list of your most recent Chat conversations, the most recent being at the top. When you click on one, it will pop up at the bottom of your screen for you to type back and forth. 

Google Chat Rooms is a relatively new feature added to Gmail. Click here to read a more in-depth blog post about Chat Rooms. The integration of Rooms makes Gmail a powerful collaboration tool. Rooms is more than an offshoot of Chat. Collaborators invited to a Room, from within Gmail, can participate in threaded discussions, share files instantly (no having to go to Drive and share) and assign tasks to project team members.

Below is the threaded conversation feature of Rooms. You know you are seeing the threaded conversation because, at the top, you will see Chat underlined. As of now, there is no ability to title each thread. Until then, the first post of a thread should be the title. In the example below, the thread is titled "Kaplinsky Mini Courses".

If you were to continue scrolling in the Room from the example above, below, you would come across the next thread, titled "Spring CUE 2021".

When files such as Google Docs are shared within a thread, all members of the Room can access the Doc right within Gmail. If edit access is shared, it can be edited here too. You can see a Google Docs toolbar across the top. This can eliminate the need to open the Doc in another Chrome tab.

In each Room, you can see a tab for Files. Click it and you will see a list of each file posted in the various threads within the Room. It shows you who posted it and gives you options for adding it to Drive or organizing within Drive. 

Each Room also has a Tasks tab. This allows you to assign tasks to members of the Room. When assigned, these Tasks will appear in Google Tasks on that person's side 

panel. 

Google Meet is another tool that is fully accessible within Gmail. No need to go to the Meet website or Google Calendar to start a video call. Simply click New meeting to start one from scratch or click My meetings to see meetings you've scheduled or been invited to.

If you click New meeting, what you see below will appear. This gives you options to invite guests and join the meeting now.

If you click My meetings, in Gmail, you'll see a list of your scheduled meetings or meetings in which you've been invited. Click on a Meeting to see details on the right. 

In Gmail, the side panel, seen on the right side of the screen, gives you quick access to Google Calendar, Google Keep, Google Tasks and Google Contacts. In addition, click the plus button at the bottom to access a "store" for third party apps that will appear in the side panel for easy access.

Google Calendar in the side panel gives you an at-a-glance view of Calendar without opening it in a separate tab. Clicking in here can give you options to start an event or edit events.

Google Keep in the side panel is great for productivity. Notes you've taken and saved can easily be inserted into emails and Chat conversations. I use this daily when adding details to this blog before sending to my mailing list.

Google Tasks in the side panel is probably my favorite feature. At a glance, I can see my repeating tasks and "to-do's". It's a great feeling to see this list shrink throughout the day. It shows productivity. I can easily add action item emails to Tasks so I don't forget to do them throughout the day. 

The newest feature of the side panel is Google Contacts. If you click on an email, then click the Contacts button in the side panel, it will show detailed information about the sender and others included in the email. This makes it easy to save and update contact information.

In a nutshell, Gmail has become a one-stop shop for productivity, efficiency and workflow. You don't need to have multiple tabs open when multitasking. Much of what you need is right there for you in one Chrome tab. What are your favorite aspects of Gmail?

If you have any questions and would like a follow up, contact me via Gmail or Chat at ajuarez@techcoachjuarez.com. 

My book, The Complete EdTech Coach: An Organic Approach to Digital Learning, co-authored with my wife Katherine Goyette is now available on Amazon. Click here to purchase. It is published by Dave Burgess Publishing. Be sure to follow the hashtag #OrganicEdTech and #CVTechTalk for updates.

Get Started Collaborating on Projects Using Google Chat Rooms

Not too long ago, Google unveiled a new feature to Google Chat called Rooms. When I first saw it, I really didn't see the point. I couldn't imagine why I would ever use it. It appeared, at first glance, as a glorified group chat. After experimenting with it for some projects, it has become a game changer for collaboration. Rooms integration into the Gmail interface has really made Gmail a one-stop shop for productivity. 

You may be wondering, as I did, when will you ever use it? If you are a classroom teacher, its great for the work done within a PLC. If you are a coach, it's a great place to collaborate with fellow coaches on PD projects. If you are an administrator, Rooms is great for facilitating collaboration on staff meetings with leadership teams. In a nutshell, if you need to collaborate on a project, Rooms is an amazing productivity tool.

Rooms allows you to invite stakeholders who can hold threaded discussions, share files easily, assign tasks and more. The sharing of files is much easier than finding the file in Drive and sharing from there. If you add a file to thread in Rooms, with only a few clicks, all members of the Room can have access to the file. In addition, each post within a thread gives you the option to call a video meeting with Google Meet. When threads are updated with new posts, pop up notifications appear as a Chat message in Gmail. This makes it easy to stay on top of news regarding the project. If there are threads within a Room that don't concern you, you can unfollow it and not get notified when it is updated.

Get started in Gmail by clicking the little arrow next to Rooms. Depending on your settings, this may be on the left or right side of your screen. This will show all the Rooms you've created or are a part of.

To start a room, click the plus button to the right of Rooms.

In the menu that appears, click Create room.

A small window will appear. Give your room a title in the first box. Below, add people's names/email addresses. Below there, you have two options. One is to organize the "conversations" into threads. This is something I highly recommend you do. The other option is whether or not to allow people outside your district's domain to be able to join. This is up to you. If working with county level, state level or consultants, you will want to check this box.

Once created, this is what it looks like when you open the Room in Gmail. You can go to the dedicated Google Chat website, chat.google.com, to access Rooms if you want. When your Room is brand new, you can get started by clicking the New thread button at the bottom of the page.

When starting a new thread, my recommendation is make the first post the title. At this time, we don't have the option to give custom titles to threads. That would be very useful. Until that time comes, make your first post in a thread the "title". This is helpful for organizing your room. In the sample below, the thread was titled 3rd Quarter Common Formative Assessments.

Members of the room click Reply to initiate a conversation, share links, share files or start a video call with Google Meet. Those buttons are to the right of the Reply bar circled below.

If you click the Google Drive button, circled above, it will open a menu where you search your Drive and add files to the thread.

When you use Rooms in Gmail, not the Google Chat site, and you open a shared file, it opens right within Gmail. You can see real time edits from collaborators and edit the file yourself. No having to have extra tabs open. This is making Gmail more of a one stop shop. 

When you post the file to thread, you'll be prompted to give permissions to the members of the Room. This doesn't seem like much, but it can be huge time saver. Before Rooms, you'd have to find the file in Drive, click Share and type in all the names of those with whom you wanted to share. This is much faster. In addition, collaborators don't have to go looking for old emails or the Shared with me folder. All they have to do is open the Room to access the file.

If you were to click the Google Meet icon, what you see below is what it would look like in the thread. This is useful for generating Google Meet links for instant or future meetings.

At the top of each room, you see three tabs. The default one is Chat. Next to it you will see Files and Tasks. When you click the Files tab, you'll see a list of all the files shared throughout different threads within the Room. 

In the Tasks tab, you can create Tasks for room members. Do so by clicking Add room task.

When creating a task, you can set a due date/time and assign it to a room member. To whomever it is assigned will see it appear in their Google Tasks list on the Gmail side panel.

When typing or replying in a thread, you can direct comment/message room members. You do this by typing the "@" symbol and the person's name. This is good for reminding collaborators of action items that need a response.

Since I started using Google Chat Rooms in late November 2020, my productivity and ability to collaborate has increased tremendously. Chat Rooms has really helped transform Gmail into a one-stop shop for much of the work I do daily. 

If you have any questions and would like a follow up, contact me via Gmail or Chat at ajuarez@techcoachjuarez.com. 

My book, The Complete EdTech Coach: An Organic Approach to Digital Learning, co-authored with my wife Katherine Goyette is now available on Amazon. Click here to purchase. It is published by Dave Burgess Publishing. Be sure to follow the hashtag #OrganicEdTech and #CVTechTalk for updates.