How to Use Google Meet

for Online Teaching and

Distance Learning
“How do I teach online?”
“How do I introduce my
students to distance learning?”
Google Meet is a better choice for work-
from-home teachers; it’s secure and
equipped with useful remote-teaching
features that will make distance learning a
breeze for you and your students.
Step-by-step guide on how to use Google Meet for distance
learning

1. Setting up a virtual classroom on Google Meet using

Google Calendar 
Use the Google Calendar route to set up your virtual classroom. Google
Calendar can send out reminder alarms to your students shortly before
class starts. For example, if you have a Math Class at 9:30 a.m. every
Wednesday, you can input this into Google Calendar and the platform will
alert your students at 9:20 a.m. to join your virtual classroom on Google
Meet. This guide will focus on setting up distance learning using Google
Calendar.
Step 1. Click on the square, nine-dot icon (next to
your initial or profile photo) on the top-right corner.
Click on “Calendar.”  
Step 2. Click anywhere within the
calendar and select “More options.”
Step 3. Type in the name of your class and plug in the starting date and time.
If your class occurs weekly, select the drop-down box labeled “Does not
repeat” and click “weekly.” You can also click “Custom” if your class recurs
multiple times a week. 
Step 4. Click on the “Add conferencing” drop-down
box and click “Join Hangouts Meet.” This will auto-
generate a link that your students will click on to join
your virtual classroom. Important: Keep this link
somewhere safe; it is the online location of your new
virtual classroom.
Step 5. Click on Notification. Click on email.
Leaving it on the default 10-minute alarm will
send an email reminder to your students 10
minutes before your class starts. 
Step 6. In the description box, you can add details
about the class and any links you’d like your
students to have easy access to (e.g. the syllabus). 
Step 7. On the right side of the page, you can add your students’
email addresses under “Guests.” Make sure the “Modify event” box
is not ticked because you don’t want to give students authority to
change anything. Unselect “Invite others” if you don’t want to give
students permission to invite someone else into your classroom.
And finally, untick “See guest list” if you want to keep your invitees’
email addresses hidden.
Step 8. Click “save” and “send.” Congratulations. You’ve just sent out
an invitation to all your students to attend your virtual classroom. 
How to use Google Meet for
distance learning lectures 
Step 1. Remember that link I told you to save while making your
class invitation on Google Calendar? Plug it into your browser.
You can also find the link by navigating to Google Calendar and
clicking on the class slot you created.
Step 2. Upon clicking the link, you’ll find yourself in a virtual
waiting room. Your students won’t be able to see you yet. This is
the best time to adjust your camera and sound settings. If you
don’t wish to be visible, click on the camera icon to turn off your
webcam.
Step 3. Click “Join now” to join your virtual classroom. To
silence distracting noises, ask your students to mute their
microphones before lecturing. If a few students forget to
mute themselves, you can always navigate to the “People”
icon on the top-right corner then scroll through your
students and mute the offenders by clicking on the mic icon
on their window. The “People” section is also a great way to
check attendance.
Step 4. Click “Present now” when you’re ready
to screen share educational materials (e.g. a
PowerPoint presentation) with your students.
You can choose to share your entire screen or a
specific window. Just be sure to get rid of
anything you don’t want your students to see.  
Useful features on Google Meet for teachers and students 

Google Meet is jam-packed with beneficial

features that will enhance your virtual teaching
experience and optimize distance learning for
your students.
Adding captions in Google Meet

On the bottom-right corner, you can click on “Turn on

captions” for students who may find captions helpful. The
captions aren’t perfect, but they’re useful for students who
may be hard of hearing, speak English as a second language
or have attention issues. 
Pinning in Google Meet

Pinning is a useful tool when you have a student

presenting his or her project to the entire class. In the
“People” section, you can hover your cursor over the
student’s window and click on the pin. Google Meet
will then make their window the center-of-focus for
all the participants in your virtual classroom.
Using the Google Meet chat for Q&A
sessions

If students have a question, they can

click on the Chat button on the top-right
corner and type in their query.
Recording your Google Meet classes
One of the coolest features of Google Hangouts Meet —
and also a temporary post-COVID-19 perk that was once
only for premium G Suite members — is the option to
record your lectures. You can do this by navigating to the
three-dot icon on the bottom right and clicking "Record
Meeting." Once you hang up from the video call with your
students, the recorded lecture will be saved to your Google
Drive.
Thank you!