Manhattan College’s First Ever ITS Chatbot to Go Live!

🎉 ITS would like to introduce our brand new Client Services & Operations Chatbot Beta! 🎉

For the first time ever ITS at Manhattan College will be rolling out a student developed Chatbot to assist the community with IT related issues. This Chatbot was entirely created by one of our STARS, Alberto DeAngelis ‘20, and was designed to bring you quick resolutions with the information you need to resolve potential issues you might encounter. You can ask the Chatbot questions about an issue you are having and it will quickly try to help you come to the best resolution and send you information from our knowledge base.

The Chatbot is running through Hangouts Chat and is easy to install. To install the Chatbot in your Hangouts please follow these instructions.


ITS is very excited about the deployment of the Chatbot Beta and would like to encourage you to take advantage of it! As this is a Beta version of a Chatbot we are looking for as much feedback as possible. Please fill out our CS&O Chatbot Survey and give us any feedback you may have.

Week 8 Tech Showcase - G Suite Productivity Apps

G Suite

G Suite is Google's full range of productivity apps based in the cloud that allow you to connect, access, and create. Clicking on each app name will direct you to the G Suite Learning Center for that product.

With G Suite, you can connect by utilizing Gmail, Google Calendar, and Hangouts Chat, and Hangouts Meet.

• Gmail

Gmail allows you to be updated with secure, private, and ad-free email. In addition, Gmail keeps you updated with real-time message notifications, and safely stores your important emails and data.

• Google Calendar

Google Calendar allows you to set up events on a cloud based calendar, and it is integrated seamlessly with Gmail, Drive, Contacts, Sites and Hangouts. You can also schedule events quickly by checking coworkers' availability or layering their calendars in a single view. You can share calendars so people see full event details or just if you are free.

• Hangouts Chat

 

Hangouts Chat is an instant messaging solution that allows for communication either with one person or an entire group. It also features bots that can integrate other Google features such as Google Calendar and Google Drive as shown in the following image.

• Hangouts Meet

Hangouts Meet is a video conferencing solution that will be covered in next week's Tech Showcase.

• Google Drive

G Suite also allows you to utilize cloud storage using Google Drive. G Suite allows you to have unlimited Google Drive cloud storage. This means you can store, access, and share your files in one secure place. You have the ability to access files anytime, anywhere from your desktop and mobile devices. Google Drive is especially useful for using less space on your device.

Additionally, you can create Team Drives which foster collaboration by allowing a shared drive where multiple people can upload files.

With G Suite, you can also create Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Forms. These programs are Google's word processor, presentation, and spreadsheet programs.

• Google Docs

Google Docs allows you to create and edit text documents right in your browser with no dedicated software required. Multiple people can work at the same time, and every change/revision is saved automatically. It also allows you export to other file types such MS Word, PDF, etc. It can also convert Word files to Docs.

• Google Slides

Google Slides allows you to create and edit presentations in your browser with no software required. Multiple people can work at the same time, and every change/revision is saved automatically. It also allows you export to other file types such PPT, PDF, etc. It can also convert PPT files to Slides.

• Google Sheets

Google Sheets allows you to create and edit spreadsheets in your browser with no software required.
Multiple people can work at the same time, and every change/revision is saved automatically. It also allows you export to other file types such Excel, PDF, etc. It can also convert Excel files to Sheets.

• Google Forms

Google Forms allows you to easily create forms for surveys and questionnaires. Responses can be tracked from Google Forms as well as Google Sheets where it is integrated seamlessly.

We are interested in your feedback, please take a few moments to complete the following G Suite Productivity Apps Survey

Start using Hangouts Chat right now

Beginning April 16, 2019, Google Hangouts Chat and Meet together are the next version of Hangouts. They will replace the original version (classic Hangouts) in G Suite.  

Classic Hangouts will be retired for all G Suite customers starting in October 2019 and all remaining users will be transitioned to Chat.

This means all classic Hangouts users can also use Chat at chat.google.com or by installing the Chat mobile or computer apps.

Learn more about Chat and classic Hangouts interoperability.

Switching from classic Hangouts to Hangouts Meet

Hangouts Chat is for continuous text chat with your team. Hangouts Chat was implemented by many people who transitioned from classic Hangouts. The chat app is filled with many features to work productively. Google has included a bot it calls @meet that can look at the schedules of anybody in a group chat and automatically suggest a meeting time then schedule it directly in Google Calendar. For more information review Get Started with Bots! ITS blog post.

Hangouts Meet is how teams communicate using video calls, one can easily hold video meetings with people inside or outside their organization.

Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet are the next generation of Hangouts that focus on team communication. Later this year, Google will  transition classic Hangouts users to Chat and Meet.

Classic Hangouts Timeline:

Classic Hangouts is a Google video messaging app. It is being phased out and will be retired for all G Suite customers in October 2019.

For more information review material from Google on these apps: Switching from classic Hangouts to Hangouts Meet.

For further details please review:  Upcoming Hangouts service consolidation for all G Suite customers

For help in getting started with Hangouts Chat please contact: ITS@manhattan.edu or TEL:  718-862-7973.

Get Started with Bots!

Hangouts Chat makes it easy for teams to be able to get their work done in one place. From direct messages to group conversations, Chat helps teams collaborate easily and efficiently. With dedicated, virtual rooms to house projects over time — plus threaded conversations — Chat makes it simple to track progress and follow up tasks.

Google's Bots are special accounts you can chat with, just as you would with people. Bots provide a conversational way for you to connect to services in Hangouts Chat, such as looking up information, scheduling meetings, performing tasks and so on.

From your Google Chat Dashboard, Navigate to the: Find Person, room, or bot section in the top left corner, then select: Message a Bot. That will show a number of popular bots where you can search through. 

Bots are created by software developers and added to Hangouts Chat by Google. Every Hangouts Chat user can use bots, including the @meet bot.

Google Hangouts Chat isn't just for talking to people - it's also a great place to chat with your bots, too. They can help you book meetings, find flights, poll your team, check your calendar and much more - they are very interactive and powerful.

In Hangouts Chat, you can add bots to a specific room, or you can chat with them directly on your own. There are bots already built for Hangouts Chat today, including Meet, Drive, Giphy and more. 
The Drive bot will update you about new comments, access request, files share with you and your storage. The Giphy bot will insert GIF's directly into your chat room.
The Summarize bot can extract the most important information, keywords and key phrases from:
• weblinks and documents - just share your link with the bot or copy-paste your text • audio files • images with text.

You can ask the Meet bot to check your calendar or book a meeting with someone else on your team or in your organization.

Review Use @meet bot for instructions on how to use a bot to set up a meeting.

For help in getting started with Hangouts Chat please contact: ITS@manhattan.edu or TEL: 718-862-7973

Get Started with Hangouts Chat: A Messaging Platform Built for Teams

Hangouts Chat

A messaging platform built for teams

• Hangouts Chat makes it easy for teams to be able to get their work done in one place. From direct messages to group conversations, Chat helps teams collaborate easily and efficiently. With dedicated, virtual rooms to house projects over time — plus threaded conversations — Chat makes it simple to track progress and follow up tasks. Chat currently supports 28 languages and each room can support up to 8,000 members.

Hangouts Chat is Deeply Integrated with G Suite:

Easily upload items from Drive, Collaborate on Docs, Sheets or Slides, join online meetings with Hangouts Meet.

Get started right away with Hangouts Chat. 

For more information please visit @ Hangouts Chat.

Partially reposted from @ Hangouts Chat.