Item: Google Hangouts (Classic)
Rating: 10
Author: Rachel Hudish

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

In all the departments that I worked in we used Google Hangout as a collaboration tool to support remote work. We used it to collaborate and review documents, meet with faculty and other staff, and just meet for a lunch hour to support morale.

Pros and Cons

Easy to use
Easy on bandwidth
Dynamic

Getting into a Google Hangout could be a little easier, but not a dealbreaker.
When someone posts in the chat, unless they click on it, they don't see the message.

Return on Investment

Google Hangouts came as part of our email suite. It effectively and efficiently supports collaboration between teams.

Alternatives Considered

Adobe Connect and Zoom

Google Hangout is very comparable to Zoom video conference tool.

Other Software Used

Zoom, Adobe Connect, Skype

Likelihood to Recommend

It is appropriate for a small group meeting, especially when collaboration on Google Docs used. It can be used for informal instruction or small classed, but may be hard to support a large class (20 or more people).

Google Hangout is great for collaboration!

Overall Satisfaction with Google Hangouts