A new school term brings new learning material, new experiences, and new opportunities for classrooms. It also brings exciting new Microsoft Teams technology designed to help your classroom stay organized, save time, and collaborate in the months ahead. A host of new Teams features are now available to support both students and staff as they move into spring.
Here are just a few of the updates that can help equip your school with the technology needed to excel in the new year—no matter the learning environment.
- Teachers and students can brainstorm, take notes, and share ideas using Whiteboard, a free-form digital canvas. This feature lets Teams classrooms draw and write together using colorful pens, pencils, text boxes, and sticky notes. Teachers can either present material on a Whiteboard or make one available to the class for editing, allowing students to collaborate in real-time. After class, these Whiteboards are saved as a file, so students can reference their work.
- With the Classroom Drop-in app, school leaders can bring guest lecturers, teaching assistants, substitute instructors, and other approved individuals into the virtual classroom. The feature allows you to easily add a new user to a Team without reaching out to an IT Admin for support. The dropped-in user can access class conversations, assignments, and grades as allowed. After the specified drop-in time has ended, the user’s access will be removed.
- It’s critical for teachers to understand not only how individual students are performing, but how classes are performing as a whole. Assignment and Grading, a feature in Education Insights, does just that. Teachers can access high-level information, including trends in grade averages and completed and missed assignments. They can also access more detailed information on specific assignments or students, so they are better able to provide individualized help when needed.
- To get early access to the latest Teams features, use Public Preview. This feature allows school leaders to try out the latest updates before they’re broadly available and see which are a good fit based on the school’s needs.
We hope these new Teams features help create an even more positive and productive experience for you, your colleagues, and your students as they start the spring term. Check back for more helpful updates throughout the year, and if your school does not have Teams yet, sign up for free today.
