First of all, it must be said that there is one major difference between Zoom and Google Meet. It all comes down to what is being allowed free of charge. If a student decides to use Zoom for video conference purposes, it will be up to 40 minutes until you have to pay. Speaking of Google Meet, group video conferences and cooperation projects can be up to one hour.
In a certain sense, the prices are almost the same when it comes to their paid plans. Both will be around $18 per month, which is not much, yet a far more important difference (and a benefit) relates to the number of participants. If you choose Google Meet, it can be up to 250, while Zoom can handle up to 1,000 learners. Although it might not be used in practice, it may become an issue for large research projects or conferences.
Google Meet vs Zoom: What to Choose For Students?
Benefits & Features:
Google Meet has up to 24 hours meeting time limit, while Zoom has up to 30 hours. Both have screen, app, and document sharing functions. Breakout rooms in Google Meet are only available with the commercial plans. Unfortunately, both Zoom and Google Meet do not offer polls free of charge. What makes Google Meet win in terms of benefits is the presence of closed captioning, which isn’t available in Zoom. Speaking of online learning tools, it is always possible to implement third-party apps for Zoom, yet it may be a bit too difficult for learners and teachers who aren’t technically savvy (think about primary schools).
Security & Integration:
It’s believed that Zoom has better integration options, yet one should not forget that Google Meet focuses on integration with Google-based apps and solutions without having to share login credentials. There’s also Data Loss Prevention available for Google Meet. Zoom, on the other hand, had famous security issues that have still not been fully addressed for free user plans.
Final Thoughts:
Google Meet easily wins in terms of security and ease of integration because if you are using Google Classroom as the LMS and have a Google account, it’s enough to start. Google Meet offers 15 GB storage space per user even when it’s free, yet there are certain limitations in terms of Meeting Recording and Attendance Tracking features, which are only available for Business plans. The same can be said about Zoom, yet it has a limited set of features and requires several third-party additions to cover all the needs.
It’s safe to say that Google Meet is an older, less advanced but surely safer option for students. The most important thing is to take time and learn the system you have well. Likewise, if you cannot understand something offered by a video conference, think about the best essay review services to receive additional assistance. Be it proofreading or some minor editing, online help always works wonders regardless of what video conferencing platform you might choose!
Video Conference Etiquette
No matter what choice you are planning to make, do not forget about the basics of common sense and video conference etiquette. It will always help you when you need to understand a new subject or enter debates with fellow learners. Most importantly, you will set a good example that will always inspire other people.
