How to get started with Google Chat

Getting started with Google Chat is easy!  Here's how!

1. Download the mobile apps (required)
   1. Download the apps:  https://get.google.com/chat/ For mobile devices, there are two apps that work together for this system.  Both are free; you will want to get both.  They are Chat (text) and Meet (video). 
2. Download the Desktop app (optional) https://get.google.com/chat/
   1. The Google Chat desktop app has additional functionality and is pretty awesome.
   2. If you want to attend via DESKTOP and you don't want to download/use the app, you can just use Chrome or Firefox browser instead.  Both work great!  
3. Sign into the app(s) with your YLProgram.org gmail address.
   1. Your username will be first initial last name @ylprogram.org.  So, for example, Captain James T Kirk would have an email address that was jkirk@ylprogram.org. 
   2. If you forgot your password you can now reset the password yourself by clicking the "reset" link!

A few notes:

• You will need the Google Hangouts Chat app by the time you get to camp (so you may as well start now!)  
• We are no longer using GroupMe, Slack, Skype, etc. and are switching to Google Chat in combination with walkie talkies for camp communications.  The use of these apps will all be depreciated and discontinued effective 6/11/18.
• Please enable notifications for the entire app.  You can then mute conversations and rooms individually that you don't want to participate in.
• Please do NOT mute the 911 channel.
• Any Google docs you share from the app automatically grant the necessary editing permissions to their recipients.  Nice! 
• Google chats has two core concepts for group chat:
  • Rooms:  Rooms have groups of people in them.   Rooms might include police, legislative, etc. You can create a room yourself.
  • Conversations:  rooms can have multiple conversations in the same room.  Reply to a conversation to keep it going.
  • You can mute (turn off notifications) for conversations and rooms.
• Student chat:  all students will have a YLProgram email as well, so you can have them download the Chat app and use that to communicate with your teams of students.
• Aliases:  Some people have aliases in addition to their username.  For example, Brian has the alias b@ylprogram.org.  However, that isn't his username.  The username convention is always first initial last name @ylprogram.org  If two individuals have the same name, the convention may be different.
  
  

The logos look like this:

Get the Apps