Online Meetings and Chat with Microsoft Teams

Teams is a web-based communication tool offering online calling, video conferencing, chat, and file sharing options. Plus, Teams is included in every Goucher Office 365 account, so it is available to all current faculty, staff, and students. Teams meetings have no real time limitation (30 hours)  and can include non-Goucher guests.

Accessing Teams

Log into Teams the same way you log into your email and other Office 365 software either…

Starting a Chat session

      1. Click on the Chat icon on the left, and then select the New Chat button at the top of chat list panel.
      2. Begin typing the name of a Goucher member and select their name when it appears.
      3. Compose a message in the box at the bottom of the chat panel.
      4. When you’re ready, select the Send icon or hit Enter.

Starting an Audio Call or Video Call

Audio and Video calls are started from the Chat window and occur immediately without a meeting link. Think of this as calling someone on the phone. This option is good for quick impromptu conversations within the Goucher community.

      1. Open a chat session with the person(s) you wish to contact (you can select an existing chat session or start a new one). You can include up to 20 people.
      2. Select Video call Video call button or Audio call Calls button to start a call.

Scheduling a Teams Meeting

Similar to other video meeting sites like Zoom, WebEx, GoToMeeting, etc., Teams Meetings are scheduled events that participants join with a link. There are several ways to schedule a meeting using Teams:

      • Select Schedule a meeting Schedule a meeting button in a chat (below the box where you type a new message) to book a meeting with the people in the chat.
      • Go to Calendar Meetings buttonon the left side of the app and select New meeting in the top right corner.
      • Select a range of time in the calendar. A scheduling form will pop open.
      • Or, use the Teams add-in for Outlook. From your Outlook calendar, create a new meeting or appointment and use the Teams Meeting buttons on the toolbar to include online meeting details in the invitation.

Inviting People Outside of Goucher to a Meeting

Teams lets you invite people outside of Goucher to a meeting, including those who don’t have a Teams license.

      1. Create the meeting  and go to where it says Add required attendees. If anyone is an optional attendee, select Optional instead.
      2. Type the person’s full email address (ex: Joe@example.com).
      3. Select Invite. They’ll receive an email with a link to the meeting.

Other Considerations :

      • When outside participants use the link to join your meeting, they will be given the option to download the Teams app or continue in their browser. Neither of these options requires a Microsoft login to use; however, most users have a better online experience using the app.
      • By default, outside users will need to be admitted through the meeting lobby.
      • Outside users will not have access to the meeting chat after the meeting ends.

Using Meeting Controls

When a Teams Meeting or Video Chat is in progress, the Meeting Controls toolbar becomes available to all users. Visit the Microsoft support article for details on how to use controls, including options for breakout rooms, meeting recordings, background effects, and more.


Creating a Personal Meeting Link Using Meet Now

The Teams calendar has a Meet Now feature for impromptu meetings. After hitting the Meet Now button, prompts appear to enter a meeting name and invite participants by entering their names or copying a meeting link to paste elsewhere. Meet Now meetings do not appear in your calendar.

You can reuse Meet Now links to create a similar experience to the Personal Meeting links in Zoom.

BEWARE:

  • Any chats, meeting notes, or other shared content will be available to everyone in every meeting session with the same name. Participants (not Organizers) can delete their chats from the thread if desired.
  • The default security settings allow anyone at Goucher College to bypass the waiting room. Be sure to change meeting options after the steps below if you don’t want users to join a meeting already in session with another person.
  • Although meeting URLs do not expire, phone dial-in numbers do.

STEPS:

  1. Create a Teams meeting from the Teams calendar using the Meet Now button. Name the meeting something like “Jane’s Personal Meeting”.
  2. Copy the resulting meeting link to your clipboard.
  3. Paste the link in a shareable space, such as in Canvas, Navigate, your e-mail signature, etc., and save it as a bookmark in your browser. You want to have it handy.
  4. Start your meeting at any time using the same link you shared with everyone else. You can reuse the link again even after the first meeting is ended.

Adding a Teams Meeting in a Canvas Course

Follow our Canvas Instructor Quick Tip to create a meeting link for students without having to copy/paste or send invitations.

Comparing Teams to Zoom

Below are some key features of both conferencing platforms.

Feature Teams Zoom
Personal meeting room No* Yes
Breakout rooms Yes Yes
HIPPA compliant Yes Through subaccount
Polls Through MS Forms Yes
Raise hand Yes Yes
Password protection No Yes
Lobby/Waiting Room Yes Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes
External guests Yes Yes
Recurring meetings Via Outlook Yes
Screen Sharing Yes Yes
Whiteboard Yes Yes
Cloud recording Yes
Cloud recordings are stored in OneDrive.		 Yes
Alternative Host Through roles Yes
Transcripts Yes Yes