Virtual Office Hours in Google+ Hangout

This semester, I’m trying out Google+ Hangouts, as a way of holding “office hours” on the web, for students who cannot easily come to my physical office during the days I’m on campus. So far, it is working out pretty well.

What we can do

• Voice (and optional video) chat
• Screensharing (yours or mine)
• One to one, or groups of up to 10 people

Hardware and software needed

• A microphone and speakers or earphones that work with your computer. A webcam is optional.
  • In a pinch, we could get by without you having a microphone, using text chat or a telephone call. But this is awkward for two-way conversations, and in most cases I’d rather not have to do it this way.
  • Text chat might also work well in a review session, where you are primarily listening, and occasionally typing in a few short sentences, and similar situations.
• System requirements for Hangouts
  • Note: Google says it works with Internet Explorer, but when I tested it on February 21, 2013, it did not. Maybe it was just a temporary glitch, maybe not.
  • Update: I tested it with Internet Explorer on a different computer on February 25, 2013, and it works, although it seems slower than in Firefox—so much slower that at first I thought it wasn’t working. Maybe that’s what really happened February 21.

When

As announced, or by appointment.

• My physical office hours are Monday and Wednesday, 12:30-1:30 and 3:30-4:30. These would usually be good times, but they are certainly not the only good times.

How to participate

1. Join Google+ if you haven’t already. Use your real name so I will know who you are. You do not need to create a public profile.

2. Add me to your circles:

   1. Visit my page here: Gregory Weber

   2. Click on “Add to circles.” Put me in any circle you like. One for IU East or for your class, perhaps.

3. When I’m notified that you’ve added me, I will “add you back,” putting you in a circle for the class(es) you are in. I will then invite you to the hangouts for office hours, when they happen.

4. You can also invite me to a hangout. While I don’t insist on it, it may be best if we agree on a time (i.e., make an appointment) beforehand. You can do this through Oncourse Messages.

5. When you join (or start) a hangout for the first time, Google will ask you to download and install the Google Talk Plugin for your web browser. After downloading, it does not install automatically: you need to manually “run” the installer (i.e., double click on the downloaded file, or equivalent). The Hangout you are starting or joining will wait while you do this. You do not need to use system administrator privileges to do this (?).

   • If you’re using speakers rather than headphones, it’s probably best to enable echo cancellation in your “Chat settings.”

Optional: For more information on Google+, see Getting Started on Google+.