Google Voice Desktop App

I’ve been talking a lot about Google Voice, this great new tool that allows you to have ONE PHONE number that will ring multiple phones. It would be extremely helpful for people who have multiple phones (a home phone, a cell phone, a work phone), yet want to have one number that would ring all phones if needed. However, you don’t have to have multiple phones as a reason for using Google Voice. I use Google Voice (you will need to ask for an invitation from Google to get this service) as my one phone number I provide to students to contact me, NOT my cell phone number.

The main reason I use Google Voice as my phone number I provide to students and others is the screening feature of GVoice. I can screen all unknown callers, requiring that they identify themselves before I answer the call. Also, I can listen in to the voicemail and decide whether I need to take the call right away or answer later. (Remember those phone answering machines?)

Google Voice transcribes the phone messages (although not quite perfect yet) and provides a web-interface where all of my messages are viewable and archived. Plus, I can call the person back through this web interface (you need to identify the phone you want your Google Voice number to use–in my case, it’s my cell), send them a text message, or email them.

Google Voice also provides you with a call widget, which I place on my Moodle course sites, for students to get access to my Google number.

And now, some very clever people have created a Google Voice Desktop App, which sits on your desktop and notifies you when new calls come in, allows you to access your account quickly, and probably will mean that I’ll use Google Voice even more often. Here’s the link where you can view and download this app: http://rstoeber.com/projects.html (Below is an image of what this app looks like.)

Again, you will need to send a request for an invitation to get Google Voice, so do that first. If you are lucky, like me (hey, Google, I’m still waiting for Google Wave!), you will receive an invitation and be able to use this powerful tool.