Student Participation with MS Teams

Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork in Office 365. Through this application, students can chat, meet, call, share files, and collaborate with other students or with faculty all in one place. It’s a great tool for online class discussion, group work, virtual meetings and office hours.

Getting started

1.  Make sure you know the communication plan for all your classes. Following the plan, which may be different for each class, is your responsibility.
2.  If one of your professors plans to use Microsoft Teams, you can start by downloading the desktop app and log in using your Augusta University credentials. Microsoft Teams is also available on Android and iOS devices. You can also access the application from your browser.
3.  Once you have access to Microsoft Teams, you may have already been added to a class team where you can start chatting with your professor and classmates in a channel. There should be one class team per every course that is using Microsoft Teams as a method of communication.
4.  Start chatting and sharing files with classmates and professor, using the “General” channel for the appropriate class team.
5. You can use @mentions in your comments to get people’s attention.
6. If you want to be notified every time somebody posts a comment to a channel you are part of, make sure you change that channel’s the notification settings. 

Online Communication Etiquette 

Please, be kind when communicating with your professors and your classmates via Microsoft Teams, email, or discussion board. Keep in mind that every word you write in any of those platforms are stored. What you write cannot be taken back. That said, here are some guidelines for online communication we hope you will use:

• Be clear and concise.
• Respect the opinion of your classmates, even if you strongly disagree with them.
• Be professional.
• Refrain from using sarcasm to make a point; it can come across as condescending or offensive to others.
• Be forgiving. We are all human and we all make mistakes.
• If you want more information on conduct expectations, read the Augusta University Student Code of Conduct.

Customizing your class teams

• Keep in mind that you can customize and organize the way you view your class teams.

• You can also create more channels in each class team. Channels are subgroups of a class team and can be used for smaller group discussions.

Using the Video Chat Function

1. Start a video call with your professor or another student.

2. Add another person to a call if necessary.

3. Put a call on hold if necessary.

Participating in a Virtual Class Meeting You Were Invited to

1. Join a class meeting.

2. Share your screen if necessary.

3. Use the Whiteboard tool if necessary.