Microsoft Teams is a digital hub that brings conversations, content, and apps together in one place. It is a powerful communication and collaboration tool for educators and students. Microsoft Teams is our main platform for all internal NZMA communication. As part of the Office 365 suite, it gives us access to a range of services useful for your role.
Microsoft Teams is a powerful tool that can also help educators create a more engaging and effective learning environment for their students. It is easy to use and includes a wide range of features that support all aspects of teaching and learning.
---> 🔵 CLICK here for a guide on the basic functions of teams and how to navigate the platform – Teams Guides
When you first open Teams, you should see a list of Teams pages you are already enrolled in. These pages work like digital communities, allowing for conversations, file sharing, apps and more. By default, you will be added to a few Teams pages we use across NZMA.
- NZMA National Shared – This is a primary space for files related to different parts of the organisation. Here, you will find general documents and forms for different organisational teams. You will also find content and files connected to your programme. You’ll often find important links are shared through this Teams page.
- NZMA Campus Shared – This Teams page is a shared space to be used by each campus where needed. You may find your campus also has a separate teams page where the space can be customised and controlled to what is needed for your team.
- IT Notifications – Any important IT updates will also be shared through this Teams page. You can also find some useful how-to guides for connecting to different digital platforms and services. An important one to start is how to connect your devices to your campus wifi.
Before you start with your class, you will need to either create or join the class Teams page. Each class intake should have its own Teams page created as a way to communicate and share safely. This Teams page allows for communication between the class as well as sharing of links and files. You can also use the connected Teams apps as a way of engaging with students.
Page 7 of the tutor manual outlines the requirements for setting up a class teams page. Be mindful as there is a set naming convention to follow, according to the allocated SELMA Class Code (intake name). This is to ensure the Class Team is identifiable as per enrolment details and accessible for quality ensurance and compliance checks such as moderation and retention of assessment files.
When using the Teams page with your class, it’s important to set clear expectations of how the platform should be used. This can also be a good time to gather student voices on what types of things they would like to see on the Teams page. Consider how the students will interact with the content and what elements might help with their engagement.
One of the prominent features of Teams is the use of the chat function and video calls. Teams can be used, like many other social media platforms, as a method to talk safely and securely with students or other staff members. With the way Teams works as well, we can ensure that the information shared in these channels is kept private. This can also be a bit more informal when talking to students and, therefore, something they engage with easier. As Teams is also a mobile app, students can receive notifications directly when they are sent a message.
Files can be uploaded and shared to a Teams page and within a chat channel. Any file that is shared via a post or directly uploaded will be stored in the files tab. These files are accessible to members of the team/chat with editing functions depending on permissions. The files are also stored in SharePoint and can be recovered if lost or corrupted.
Microsoft 365 files that are shared in teams can be opened and edited within the app. These files can be accessed by multiple users at the same time, allowing for collaboration on documents. This can be great for group work activities or assessments where students need to create shared documentation.
Other non-Microsoft 365 files can also be uploaded to teams as a way of securely storing and sharing files with other users. Files can also be renamed, locked, tagged, and copied to new locations to make file management more efficient.
Another beneficial function Teams offers is the use of apps. These internal and third-party applications allow users to add further functionality to their Teams pages. There is a wide range of apps accessible through the Teams platforms, such as education tools, games, productivity apps, communication platforms and many more.
The apps work differently depending on their function, but each can be found through the apps tab and added to an individual teams page. Most of the apps will walk you through how to install them to the right Teams group. Some of the third-party apps require a separate account to access and permissions in the Teams platform. For this reason, some apps are locked behind IT approval. Requests can be made to grant access to certain apps but will be at the discretion of IT in relation to the overall security.
It can be a good idea to have your own private teams page as a way to install and test apps before adding them to a class page. There are also Teams app versions of many platforms you may already be familiar with or have used in an educational setting in the past.
