Information Technology Services

Google Meet now includes an option to reduce background noise on both desktop and mobile. Meet can remove background noises such as typing, closing a door, or the sounds of a nearby construction site.

• Audio capture from screen sharing won’t be affected by noise cancelling.
• Meet filters out noises that don’t sound like voices. Voices from TV, or other people talking at the same time, won’t be filtered out.
• If non-speech sound is an important part of your call, like playing musical instruments, turn off noise cancellation.

Turn on noise cancellation in your desktop browser:

Before a video call

1. Go to meet.google.com.
2. Select a video call.
3. Before you join, on the top right, click More options 
4. Choose Settings .
5. Click Audio.
6. Turn on Noise cancellation.
7. Click Join now.

In a video call

1. On the bottom, click  More options 
2. Choose Settings .
3. Click Audio.
4. Turn on Noise cancellation.

Tip: To check how much noise is cancelled out, next to your self preview at the top right corner of your screen, look at the Voice indicator  . The Voice indicator reflects what others may hear. Sounds that are blocked and cannot be heard by others will not move the indicator line.

Turn on noise cancellation on mobile:

1. Tap the screen .
2. Tap More 
3. Tap Settings .
4. Tap Noise cancellation.

Here’s an example showing the difference it can make:

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Between May 5-12, users will not be able to download full eBooks to read offline from EBSCOhost, EBSCO Discovery Service, or the EBSCO mobile app. They will be able to read eBooks online and download eBook chapters, and any eBooks already downloaded will continue to be available to users.

If you have additional questions or need assistance, please contact the Infodesk by email at: infodesk@allegheny.edu or by phone at: (814) 332-3768.

With Allegheny College’s newly implemented G Suite Enterprise for Education, faculty and other employees can now use breakout rooms to divide participants into smaller groups during video calls in Google Meet. Breakout rooms must be started by moderators during a video call on a computer. Any employee who schedules or starts a meeting will be the moderator. Breakout rooms currently can’t be live streamed or recorded.

You must be signed into your Allegheny Google account to participate in breakout rooms.

How to Create breakout rooms

1. On your computer, start a video call in Google Meet.
2. In the top right, click Activities   Breakout rooms.
   
3. In the Breakout rooms panel, choose the number of breakout rooms.
4. Call participants are then distributed across the rooms.
5. To manually move people into different rooms, you can:
   • Enter the participant’s name directly into a breakout room.
   • Click the participant’s name. Hold down the mouse, drag the name, and then drop it into another breakout room.
   • To randomly mix up the groups again, click Shuffle .
6. You can also choose whether to rename the rooms by clicking on the room name itself.
7. In the bottom right, click Open rooms.

Learn more about Using Breakout Rooms in Google Meet.

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While out of the office for any extended period of time, you may wish to change the greeting that callers will hear before leaving a voicemail. Employees can change their greetings in the campus phone system whether on or off campus.

1. From off campus: Dial your extension’s full number (e.g., 814-332-xxxx, where xxxx is your 4-digit extension)
   From on campus: Press the voicemail button on your desk phone.
2. Press the pound key (#) when the recording starts.
3. Enter your 4-digit extension.
4. Press the star (*) when the next recording starts.
5. Enter your voicemail passcode (PIN). If you aren’t sure what your PIN is, please contact the InfoDesk at infodesk@allegheny.edu.
6. Press 8 for user options.
7. Press 4 to change your greeting.
8. Press 7 to record a new greeting.
9. Record the greeting, then press the pound key (#).
10. Press 7 to listen to the new greeting.
11. Press 3 to discard and try again, or 9 to save the new greeting.

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Google Meet now offers the option to select a virtual background! These backgrounds can be changed at any point during the meeting.

To select a virtual background prior to starting a meeting, click on the Change background icon in the bottom right corner of your video preview.

To change your virtual background within a meeting, click on the three dots within the white bar. From there select Change background.

Please note that using virtual backgrounds may cause your computer to run slower.

If Meet or Zoom isn’t performing as well as expected, there are various things you can do to improve your experience.

• Mute your microphone when you’re not speaking.
  When your microphone is on, Meet and Zoom will devote part of your Internet connection to an audio stream for you, even if you are not speaking. Mute your microphone when you do not need it to free up bandwidth for your meeting or class.
• Stop your webcam video when you don’t need it.
  If your instructor or moderator is okay with you doing so, start your video only when you need to show yourself on webcam, and stop your video when it isn’t needed.
• Consider disabling custom or blurred backgrounds.
  Custom backgrounds can slow down performance during a video chat. If you’re comfortable displaying your present surroundings, disabling background options can improve your session.
• Disable HD webcam video.
  Sending high definition (HD) webcam video requires more bandwidth than sending non-HD. Disabling HD video or using a lower definition can improve the quality of your connection.
• Free up bandwidth from other sources.
  Close programs you’re not using on your computer, and close out tabs in your browser that you don’t need at the moment. If you’re using wifi, consider disconnecting your phone, smart speaker, game console, etc., from the wifi during meetings or classes, to conserve local bandwidth.

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If color-coding is something that fits your organization style, you can color-code your Google Drive folders.

In your browser, just right-click (control-click on a Mac) on the folder whose color you would like to change. Choose Change color, and then select the color from the grid that pops up. The new color will remain until you change it again.

The widely used Google Chrome browser allows you to be signed into multiple Google accounts at once, which will conveniently allow you to switch between accounts without signing out and back in again.

For multiple sites and services used by the college, however, it’s important to make sure that you’re accessing these sites with your Allegheny Google account, and not a personal one.

For example, when joining a Google Meet video call, it’s important to join the call with your Allegheny account. (Most Google applications will indicate which account you are using.)

If the displayed account is not your Allegheny account – click on your account icon, and select your Allegheny account, or Add another account.

Questions or Concerns? Please send us an email at infodesk@allegheny.edu.