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
- Starting a Chat session
- Starting an Audio Call or Video Call
- Scheduling a Teams Meeting
- Inviting People Outside of Goucher to a Meeting
- Using Meeting Controls
- Creating a Personal Meeting Link Using Meet Now
- Adding a Teams Meeting in a Canvas Course
- Comparing Teams to Zoom
Accessing Teams
Log into Teams the same way you log into your email and other Office 365 software either…
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- From a Browser – Go to https://teams.microsoft.com
- From the Teams software or app – Download Teams for your desktop, iOS, or Android.
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Starting a Chat session
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.
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:
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- Select Schedule a meeting
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
on 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.
- Select Schedule a meeting
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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.
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- Create the meeting and go to where it says Add required attendees. If anyone is an optional attendee, select Optional instead.
- Type the person’s full email address (ex: Joe@example.com).
- Select Invite. They’ll receive an email with a link to the meeting.
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Other Considerations :
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- 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.
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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:
- Create a Teams meeting from the Teams calendar using the Meet Now button. Name the meeting something like “Jane’s Personal Meeting”.
- Copy the resulting meeting link to your clipboard.
- 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.
- 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 |