Microsoft Teams is a cloud-based video conferencing platform that allows teachers and students to meet and work together “face to face” when meeting in person is not possible. It can be used for conference meetings, audio conferencing, webinars, meeting recordings, and live chat. Teams can be used on laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, and even desk phones, giving students many ways to access a class session. The platform has features that allow teachers to share their screens, applications, and files with students for learning experiences. Microsoft Teams also has breakout rooms to assign students to small groups for projects, and Q&A tools to monitor student progress.
Using Teams, teachers and students who are at different locations can communicate and collaborate synchronously with one another via video conferencing, audio calls, and messages.
Video Conferencing
Video conferencing on Teams allows students and teachers to meet face-to-face synchronously, regardless of location. During meetings, teachers can use the Breakout Rooms feature to promote discussion and collaboration by dividing students into small groups. When video conferencing on Teams, teachers can share their screens with students and can give students permission to share their screens too. In discussing content, the Raise your Hand feature can be leveraged to create structure in classroom management.
Messages
Teachers can send messages or announcements to students privately or on a mass scale by using the New Conversation or Chat features on Teams. Teams allows teachers to have control of their instructional conversations, as teachers can disable Chat features if desired (teachers might need to contact their Office 365 IT administrators for access to the Messaging policy settings on the Microsoft Teams admin center). Because it may take up to 24 hours for changes to take effect, it is best that teachers decide and act ahead of time to ensure that private chat among students is disabled if desired. To enhance engagement, interactivity, and Social-Emotional Learning, the emoji and GIF features can be used by teachers and students when communicating via messaging.
Instructional Content Management & Assessment
Teachers can create and share instructional content, such as videos, with students in one location. Using the Files feature, content can be kept and accessed online by students for as long as teachers desire. Teams also allows for flexibility in managing instructional files or content because of its ability to import and access external files, such as PowerPoint files. During and after lessons, Badges, one of Team’s distinctive features, can be used in offering feedback to students on formative assessments in a less formal way.
Microsoft Teams is accessible to users through laptops, desktops, tablets, and phones. This tool is compatible with Android, IOS, Windows, and through modern browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. To maximize the unique functionalities of Teams, teachers and administrators must have login accounts through licensed subscriptions purchased by schools or school districts.
All communication on Teams is encrypted to ensure that the confidentiality and privacy of users are respected and protected. Information shared with Teams is only accessible by students and teachers, approved school staff, and approved parents/guardians. Microsoft Teams Privacy Policy
Teams is compatible with assistive technologies such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice control, eye control, and dictation software. Also, a live closed captioning option exists for users to leverage during meetings. Accessibility Tools for Microsoft Teams