Good evening Techstravaganza Friends,
It was an excellent tutorial on using Google meet today. Have a listen here: It is only on Spotify for now. Stay tuned, more platforms are coming! https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ytA3ZaAoDqhaKeGXAgQiB?si=XPr7zunNTniZAQ-kI8q-a
Show notes:
Siena: Will be on vacation from Wednesday, August 26 to Wednesday, October 7, returning on October 7.
Siena: During her absence, Textravaganza workshops will temporarily switch from Zoom to Google Meet, as Ali Moosa uses Google Meet full-time.
Ali Moosa: Confirmed that Google Meet streamlines his workflow.
Siena: Noted that Zoom has become increasingly bloated and maze-like, particularly when accessing recordings for podcast upload.
Ali Moosa, Lily, Macara, and Ashlyn will manage the workshops during Siena’s absence.
Conclusion
Textravaganza workshops will run on Google Meet from August 26 through early October.
Siena will return to Zoom upon her return on October 7.
Google Meet Tutorial: Mobile Interface Overview (iPhone)
Siena demonstrated the Google Meet app on her iPhone 17E via screen share, walking through the settings and interface.
Details
Siena: Opened the More Options menu, which contains Settings, Privacy, Help, Feedback, and Close Menu.
Siena: Walked through General Settings, including: Report Additional Diagnostics (kept on), Leave Empty Calls (toggled off — she does not want to be auto-removed after 10 minutes), Use Additional Encryption (currently off), Motion Status Tracking, and Only Contacts Can Call Me (toggled to demonstrate on/off).
Siena: Covered Notification Settings: Missed Calls notifications (on) and New Features updates (on).
Siena: Showed Default Apps settings, where Google Meet can be set as the default calling app, with options for browser (Chrome) and Maps.
Siena: Noted the On-the-Go mode, which reduces the screen display when the device is detected as moving, similar to Zoom’s Driving Mode.
Siena: Demonstrated Speech Translation setting under General, which allows translation of spoken words for other participants.
Conclusion
The Google Meet mobile settings are straightforward, covering diagnostics, privacy, notifications, and default app configuration.
The Leave Empty Calls setting is recommended to be turned off to prevent automatic removal from a call.
Google Meet Tutorial: Individual and Group Calling (Mobile)
Siena demonstrated how to place individual audio calls and group calls directly from the Google Meet mobile app.
Details
Siena: Showed how to search for a contact (demonstrated by searching for Ali Moosa) and initiate an audio or video call from the contact’s detail screen.
Siena: Placed a live audio call to Ali Moosa to demonstrate call quality; both confirmed the audio was very clear.
Siena: Showed the in-call screen controls: audio output selection (earpiece or speaker), turn on/off camera, mute/unmute microphone, emoji reactions, and leave/end call options.
Siena: Demonstrated ending a call with the option to “End for Everyone” or “Just Leave.”
Hans: Asked whether participants can be added to an ongoing one-on-one call to create a group call mid-session.
Ali Moosa: Believed the answer is yes but suggested testing it.
Lily: Asked whether it is possible to call a participant directly from a Google Meet event if they are having trouble joining via the calendar invite link.
Ali Moosa: Was unsure; thought he may have seen this option on the Workspace side but could not confirm.
Siena: Demonstrated the Group Call feature under the New menu, successfully adding Ali Moosa and Lily Frederiksen to a group audio call, confirming that group calls can be initiated from the New menu before placing the call.
Siena: Noted that the Calling As feature allows users to choose whether to call using their phone number or Gmail address.
Conclusion
Individual and group audio/video calls can be initiated directly from the Google Meet mobile app.
Group calls are created via New > Group Call, where contacts are added before the call is placed.
The question of calling a participant directly from a calendar event invite remains unconfirmed and will be tested at a future hangout session.
Google Meet Tutorial: Creating a Meeting via Google Calendar (Mobile — Troubleshooting)
Siena attempted to demonstrate creating a Google Meet event through the Google Calendar mobile app, which encountered significant VoiceOver navigation issues.
Details
Siena: Attempted to open Google Calendar on the iPhone and create a new event with a Google Meet link.
The app repeatedly jumped to incorrect dates (including jumping 10 years ahead to 2036), switched views unexpectedly, and the Add Event button was difficult to activate reliably.
Ali Moosa: Guided Siena through the correct steps: switch to Schedule view, hit Go to Today, then use the Add button.
Palmer: Noted that an update to the Google Calendar mobile app had been released 4 days prior, which may address some of the issues.
Siena: Managed to partially create an event titled “Google Calendar Troubleshooting Session” with guests Ali Moosa and Lily Frederiksen, and added a Google Meet conference link.
Siena: Decided to abandon the mobile approach and switch to the desktop/web interface, noting it works significantly better.
Siena: Committed to reporting the VoiceOver navigation issues to Google, noting Google has historically been responsive to accessibility bug reports.
Conclusion
The Google Calendar mobile app has notable VoiceOver navigation issues on the iPhone, causing erratic focus jumping and view switching.
Creating Google Meet events is strongly recommended via the desktop/web interface (calendar.google.com) for a smoother experience.
The issues should be reported to Google for resolution.
Google Meet Tutorial: Creating a Meeting via Google Calendar (Desktop/Web)
After switching to the desktop, Siena successfully demonstrated creating a Google Meet event through calendar.google.com in Chrome.
Details
Siena: Navigated to Google Meet on the web, selected New Meeting > Schedule in Google Calendar, which opened Google Calendar directly.
Siena: Created an event titled “Google Calendar Troubleshooting Session,” set the date to August 7, 2026, with a start time of 9:00 PM and end time of 10:30 PM (typed directly into the time field as a workaround for the picker).
Ali Moosa: Noted that typing the time directly is a valid and efficient workaround.
Siena: Added guests Ali Moosa and Lily Frederiksen, and confirmed Google Meet was selected as the conferencing option.
Siena: Saved the event and sent invitation emails to guests.
Ali Moosa: Confirmed the invitation email arrived immediately.
Siena: Navigated to the event in the calendar using month view, tabbed to the Join with Google Meet link, and joined the meeting.
Siena: Noted that Google Calendar keyboard shortcuts (e.g., pressing C to create an event, T to go to today) work consistently across Mac and PC, which she praised as a significant accessibility advantage.
Conclusion
Creating and joining Google Meet events via the web interface is smooth and accessible.
Keyboard shortcuts are consistent across Mac and PC platforms in Google Calendar and Google Meet.
Typing times directly into the time field is a reliable workaround for the time picker.
Google Meet Tutorial: In-Meeting Controls and Keyboard Commands (Desktop)
Siena demonstrated the in-meeting interface and key controls available to hosts and participants on the desktop.
Details
Siena: Demonstrated toggling the camera on/off with Command+E (Mac) / Ctrl+E (PC).
Siena: Demonstrated toggling the microphone on/off with Command+D (Mac) / Ctrl+D (PC).
Siena: Used the screen reader Find function to locate the Chat panel, typed a message (“Hello everyone! No wait, I’m the only one here! Oh no, I’m talking to myself in the chat.”), and sent it, demonstrating that pressing Escape closes the chat panel.
Siena: Navigated to Meeting Tools, which includes: Speech Translation, Record (capture the meeting), Transcribe (capture the conversation), Timer, Show, and Live Streaming.
Ali Moosa: Clarified that recording is only available on the desktop side, not mobile.
Siena: Demonstrated the People panel, showing the participant list.
Siena: Demonstrated raising and lowering a hand using Control+Command+H (Mac) / Ctrl+Alt+H (PC).
Siena: Opened the Host Controls panel, which includes: Meeting Moderation toggle, Late Contributors settings (e.g., allow contributors to share their screen), and other host-level permissions.
Siena: Noted that tabbing through controls reveals keyboard shortcuts inline, so users do not need to memorize or look them up separately.
Siena: Compared Google Meet’s panel-based navigation favorably to Zoom, describing Zoom’s interface as “walking blindfolded in a maze.”
Lily: Flagged mid-session that the Mac audio had dropped from the screen share; Siena troubleshot and restored it.
Conclusion
Google Meet on desktop offers a comprehensive, keyboard-accessible set of meeting controls.
Key shortcuts: camera toggle (Cmd/Ctrl+E), microphone toggle (Cmd/Ctrl+D), raise/lower hand (Ctrl+Cmd+H on Mac, Ctrl+Alt+H on PC).
Recording and transcription are desktop-only features.
The screen reader Find function is highly recommended for efficient navigation within a Google Meet session.
Host controls allow granular management of participant permissions during or before a meeting.
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