I will admit. When I came across Microsoft Teams, I wasn't much of a fan. However through the course of a global pandemic, I was able to give it a closer look; and I like it. One of the biggest advantages is how well it integrates into the whole Microsoft Office365 product suite. So many of you have reached out to me and asked, "Can I use this for my class?". Well you can, or at least people do. Since teams wasn't designed for the educational context, some of the user experience isn't very elegant. However, using Teams in an educational context can provide a ton of fucntionality that can help make your learning experience engaging and interactive.
Here are some reasons why you may want to consider Teams for learning:
- Shared file space: Each Team has it's own shared file storage tab, which makes it easy to find shared files.
- Private groups: Within a Team, private groups can be created where sub-teams can communicate apart from the larger group.
- Multiple Channels: Discussion thread can utilized to create focused discussions. Each Channel will have it's own File storage or the ability to integrate other Microsoft apps into the functionality.
- Persistent messaging - After Teams Meetings, messaging from the chat remains in the chat. So you don't have to worry about exporting the chat transcript
- Teams Meetings: From an Outlook Meeting Invite, you can setup a Teams Meeting by simply clicking on a button. No need to go to an external application and copy and paste a link. Teams also has a some nice features like blurred backgrounds and very swanky minimalist apartment backgrounds for your remote meetings.
These are just a few highlights of the application. For a more detailed review, check out the following tutorial:
