What is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams is an app that facilitates communication and collaboration in a virtual workspace. It is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of products and comes with the free Microsoft package available to all Montgomery College professors and students.
Why would a faculty member want to use Teams?
Microsoft originally developed Teams as a business app; however, because of its versatility, Teams makes a superb tool for professors, who can create a team for each class and groups within a class. The video conferencing feature allows for whole-group discussions, and students can use breakout rooms for group work during class. The teams for which the product is named offer numerous features which enhance the learning experience. Instructors and students can easily share documents and links in the files area within a team. The Class Notebook, Assignments, and Grades features allow for interactive lessons and quick feedback.
How will Microsoft Teams enhance your class?
Since Microsoft Teams was designed for collaboration, the application lends itself to collaborative learning, allowing for a constructivist approach to instruction. The constructivist learning theory maintains that students and teachers work together in building new understanding. In the constructivist viewpoint, learners are not passive recipients of knowledge but co-creators of new knowledge with the teacher. Students gain a greater degree of ownership over the learning, and this helps to develop learner agency and autonomy. Teams can provide the technological foundation for this. Instructors should note, though, that Teams is not a learning management system (LMS), and they should employ it as an addition to Blackboard rather than a substitute.
Where can I learn more about using Microsoft Teams?
To learn more about Teams, please check out the following videos. The first video provides a brief overview of Teams, while the second delves into its functionality.
In addition, please visit these websites for more ideas on how Teams can benefit your instruction; the blog posts describe how teachers can use Teams creatively and effectively.
Microsoft Teams: What is it and How Does it Work for Students and Teachers