Education has shifted in both amazing and challenging ways over the past two years, and educators have been at the very forefront of that change. Microsoft Teams, both in the classroom and at a school administrator level, has also experienced that shift while providing exciting updates to ease this ever-evolving transition. However, keeping up with every update and new feature and then beginning to use them in the classroom can be daunting! So, what are the top three Teams features educators and schools are underutilizing?
Education Insights
Adding the Insights tab in your Class Team is the number one way you can provide additional support for your students. Insights provides real-time analytics of when and how students are using Teams and engaging with the content provided in your class. Insights is presented with easy-to-read data and visualizations that make it easy for educators to track the student experience and to ensure that the student’s academic, emotional, and social needs are being met whether it is through in-person or virtual instruction. Teams takes data from Assignments, Channel engagement, Files, OneNote Class Notebook, Meetings, Reading Progress, and Reflect to populate the Insights dashboard allowing educators to fully assess the student using a continuous cycle of identification, reflection, discussion, and action.
Educators and educational leaders can access Insights though their Teams personal app or as a tab within their Team.
Resources:
Insights Complete Guide for Educators
Reading Progress
Reading Progress in Teams is AMAZING! Built into Assignments in Teams, Reading Progress allows students to submit their own recordings of reading fluency checks, either with a text provided by the educator or ReadWorks, freeing teachers to access the recordings at any time to build differentiated lessons based on student needs, comprehension, and reading levels. The teacher can allow for multiple attempts as students gain fluency and confidence. With a built-in AI component, educators can save time utilizing the AI-assisted review for student errors and to capture words per minute and accuracy rate automatically as teacher listen and review. Reading Progress data is collected in the Education Insights dashboard, providing educators with the data needed to plan for effective planning.
Resources:
Introduction to Reading Progress in Teams
View reading Progress data in Insights
The Educator and Student’s Experience with Reading Progress
Class Notebook
Utilizing Class Notebook in your Class Team seems like a no-brainer, right? But whether educators are overwhelmed with tools or simply too busy to add content they are missing out on hands-down one of the best Microsoft programs ever. OneNote is essentially a digital binder; the Class Notebook component is built into your Class Team and contains three sections:
• The Content Library: a read-only space where the teacher can share handouts and content with students.
• The Collaboration Space: a space where everyone in your class can share, organize, and collaborate.
• The Student Netbooks: a private space shared between the teacher and each individual student. Teachers can access every student notebook, while students can only access their own.
The Class Notebooks feature creates a safe space for students to access the content needed to learn, provides a collaborative resource for group work, and opens up a communication portal with their teachers to check in, ask questions, and see classwork and progress. Truly a no-brainer for educators.
Resources:
Use OneNote Class Notebook in Teams
Set up a Class Notebook in Teams with Existing Content
Class Notebook in Microsoft Teams
Interested in learning more about Microsoft Teams in the classroom? Reach out to your Connection Account Manager to explore our Microsoft professional development services.
Makayla Mota
Makayla Mota is a Partner Marketing Specialist at Connection with a background in educational technology training on Microsoft solutions in the classroom. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, spending time with her family, antiquing, hiking, and watching movies.
