Hangouts - Innovating Communication
April 17, 2017

Hangouts - Innovating Communication

Awad Awad | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Google Hangouts

I use it to hold class and to tutor students who are located in various locations. For example, I live on the East coast and tutor someone in Silicon Valley. My students currently use it to record conversations with each other when their language partner is not on campus. I initially used it in its pilot phase to hold a class with students who were located throughout the US and Europe. I would hold class and during the tests, they would take it in front of the camera and send me the results by taking a picture with their smartphone and send me the file in real time. I have also used it to hold international language and culture exchanges as well as meetings. UNG currently uses Microsoft and not Google. Thus I use it on my own. Hangouts addresses innovative, non-traditional, flipped and blended approaches to language learning.
  • Ability to connect for free.
  • Ability to have single or multiple people join in a hangout.
  • Ability to record the session.
  • Ability to hold a conversation, chat, upload documents, share a file or video, etc., all at the same time.
  • There are time lapses. Sometimes I have to switch to FaceTime because of the delay losing all other tools that Hangouts provides.
  • Those new to the program have a hard time navigating the features on Google +.
  • Maybe merge all Hangout features onto Gmail.
  • No cost to join.
  • Able to attract and connect with a wider market.
  • Makes me more marketable.
I prefer to use Google products whenever possible. I have used Hangouts in its pilot phase and have seen it grow. Although not without glitches, Google supports Arabic better than the rest.
If the video delays are fixed I [can] see it [being] used in all professional situations I can think of where folks can not physically be in the same location. It also allows innovation to incorporate technology in the learning process.

Google Hangouts (Classic) Feature Ratings

Hosted PBX
8
Multi-level Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Not Rated
User templates
6
Call reports
7
Directory of employee names
9
Answering rules
Not Rated
Call recording
7
Call park
Not Rated
Call screening
Not Rated
Message alerts
Not Rated
Video conferencing
8
Audio conferencing
8
Mobile app for iOS
8
Mobile app for Android
8