In recent years, technology has revolutionised how education is provided, breaking down the boundaries of traditional classroom settings and synchronous learning environments. One of the most significant contributors to this transformation is Microsoft Teams. Originally developed as a communication and collaboration tool for businesses, Microsoft Teams has emerged as a powerful platform for teaching and learning. With its robust features and user-friendly interface, Teams has become an indispensable tool for educators across multiple sectors worldwide.
In our second Microsoft for Teaching Sig of 2023, we continued to explore some key apps and features of Teams. Popular applications for education that can be integrated with a Teams site include:
- Kahoot!: An interactive learning app that lets teachers create quizzes, surveys, and games to engage students and assess their knowledge.
- Flipgrid: A video discussion platform that enables educators and students to share short video responses, fostering interactive and engaging discussions.
- Nearpod: An interactive presentation tool that allows teachers to create engaging lessons, quizzes, and polls to deliver immersive learning experiences.
- Class Notebook: A powerful app for educators to create digital notebooks, distribute assignments, provide feedback, and collaborate with students.
- Reflect: A check-in app designed to help students develop and broaden emotional vocabulary. This app can also be used for data collection and checking understandings/responses to customised questions.
Applications designed to support community engagement and support meetings, and productivity include:
- Zoom: Integration with Zoom allows users to schedule and join Zoom meetings directly from Microsoft Teams, combining the best of both platforms.
- Polly: Enables users to create polls, surveys, and quizzes within Teams to gather feedback and engage team members during meetings.
- Miro: A collaborative online whiteboard that allows teams to brainstorm, create diagrams, and collaborate visually in real-time, all within Teams.
- Trello: A popular project management app that helps teams organise tasks, create boards, and track progress directly from Teams.
- To Do: A simple organisation application that is integrated within Microsoft Outlook to assist with task management and schedules. It can be used to assign tasks.
Many of these applications can also be utilised within Teams meetings to enhance and extend on collaborative tasks. Collaborative learning is an essential aspect of modern education, and Microsoft Teams offers a range of features to facilitate teamwork. Through the creation of “Teams” and “Channels,” educators can group students based on projects, subjects, or areas of interest. Teams provide a shared space for staff and students to collaborate, exchange ideas, co-author documents, and work on group assignments. Students can effectively collaborate and learn from their peers with access to threaded discussions, shared calendars, and integrated productivity tools.
Have you explored any of these apps or tools within your Teams site or teaching? If you would like to explore these further, then be sure to sign up here for the Microsoft Teams Integration pilot for Semester Two, 2023.
Be sure to catch up with the latest MS Sig recording for more information on using apps to support engagement and productivity.
