I think that Google Hangouts can be an effective and fun tool to use. For personal reasons I like the idea of being able to 'hangout' and chat with people who don't have Facetime. It is nice know that you don't need a Gmail account to connect with people on Hangout. I don't know anyone who uses it, so it will have to be my 'job' to introduce friends and family to it.
I found debut on Google Hangout on Air to be a little tricky, but I'm sure after a few go's with it it would get easier and more natural to use. It was a little goofy to be talking into a camera with no audience (trying to maintain eye contact with the camera). I would like to work with it a little more so I can get comfortable using some of the tools with it (ex. screensharing).
I do like the idea that some other people brought up on their blogs of being able to possibly use Hangout for parent-teacher conferences if one parent cannot be in attendance. I also think that it could be fun to try to set up a Mystery Hangout with another 4th grade class at some point in the school year. I'm sure that my class would love it!
Great idea about the conferencing. I didn't think about using it that way. I wonder if it would help to do when you have divorced parents who request a separate conference. Would save us a good 20-30 minutes! It would definitely be a good idea for parents who have to travel for work.
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