Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a hub for teamwork in Office 365. Keep all your team’s chats, meetings, files, and apps together in one place.

Accessing and Installing Microsoft Teams

You can access Microsoft Teams here: https://teams.microsoft.com/

Although it is best to install the Microsoft Teams desktop app and/or mobile app.

Here are the minimum hardware requirements for your computer or phone.

Microsoft Teams Documentation

Here are links to more support and resources for learning Microsoft Teams, including:

• Microsoft Teams training videos and webinars
• A printable Microsoft Teams Quick Guide
• How to create your own Microsoft Team
• How to add people to a Microsoft Team
• How to join an existing Microsoft Team
• How to create a link or code for joining a team that you can share with your students.
• How to leave a Microsoft Team
• How to schedule videoconference meetings in Microsoft Teams
  • By default, everyone is a meeting has presenter privileges, such as muting others. To restrict that, you can set the meeting options via the Calendar button in Teams, or right click on someone in the meeting and make them an Attendee instead of a Presenter.  See this video tutorial on using Teams meetings with students and this tutorial on roles in a Teams meeting.  If you don’t see the “meeting options” link when going to the meeting in the calendar, switch to the calendar event series rather than the single calendar event occurrence.
• You can also create a Microsoft Teams meeting from within your Canvas course
• How to share your screen or other content in a Teams meeting
• How to chat, call, or videoconference with one or more individual students in Teams (click the pencil icon at the top of Teams)
• Teams and channels – for example for putting students into groups where they can have their own discussions, shared file space, and videoconferences if they wish.
• Quickly poll your students with the Forms bot in Teams or add a Forms survey or quiz to a video recording.  See also free third party polling tools like Poll Everywhere or Kahoot.
• If you want to allow students to book appointments with you, Microsoft Bookings integrates with Microsoft Teams, although it is a powerful tool perhaps more suitable for services such as tutoring or advising.  Canvas has a simpler appointment booking tool in its calendar that might be more suitable for instructors to use.  At the scheduled time, you can chat or videoconference with your student one-on-one in your team.
• Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Teams

Using Microsoft Teams in Education

Here are some examples and advice on how people are using Microsoft Teams in educational contexts.

• Microsoft Teams – Moving from learner ‘management’, to learner autonomy and skills for the future
• How Microsoft Teams can help higher education students take control of their learning
• 9 ways to transform the student learning experience with Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Teams: Top 10 tips for learner engagement
• Build a Collaborative Classroom with Microsoft Teams
• How can technology support inclusive and participatory learning?
• Microsoft Teams: Communicate, Collaborate, Create
• Cultivating collaborations with learner communities in HE

Practical and Pedagogical Considerations for Live Videoconferencing

Microsoft Teams is a great tool, but for your course as a whole, please consider making your course as asynchronous as possible instead of primarily using a live, synchronous mode of delivery if you can.  That is more convenient for you (you can record your lessons on your own time) and for your students, who may have technological and other types of hurdles to participating in videoconferences.  It’s also more effective pedagogically.  You could have students watch a short pre-recorded video lecture and follow-up on that with a discussion board activity or quiz or assignment.  Live videoconferencing is more appropriate for things such as one-on-one meetings, small group meetings, virtual office hours, etc.

If you do use a videoconferencing tool for lectures, two things are very important for success:

1. Test out the videoconference tool first with your colleagues or students before having a “real” lecture session, and
2. Record your videoconference sessions, as there will likely be several students who cannot attend or participate in the live session for various reasons.

Issues with Live Videoconferences

Your students may not have access to a good Internet connection or a computer at the time you want to meet virtually.  They may be busy with other more important things: moving home, taking care of their family, etc.  They may have problems getting their microphone to work.

You may run into other technical issues, too, which is another reason why it may be preferable to pre-record your lessons on your laptop and interact with your students asynchronously, for example via a discussion board activity.