Buzz
Firstly, features like Together Mode, Dynamic View, 7x7 video meeting view for desktop, and 3x3 for mobile devices will be rolled out in August, enabling users to view more participants simultaneously. Presently, meetings support a maximum of 300 participants, and by year-end, this figure could increase to a maximum of 1,000 participants. A maximum of 20,000 participants is also supported but only in the view mode.
Microsoft Unveils Teams Features for Education Support
Teams Download Links for PC, Android, and iOS:
Microsoft has further enhanced the Whiteboard feature for better performance, supporting detailed drag-and-drop, sticky notes, and text for users without touch screens to still utilize this feature. There will also be a functionality allowing teachers to share the Whiteboard and limit students' writing abilities. These features are currently available and accessible.
Another feature is Virtual Breakout Rooms, allowing teachers to divide a class into multiple rooms for small discussions and download attendance reports after meetings. The attendance report is expected to be released in early September, and Virtual Breakout Rooms are anticipated to be present by the end of 2020.
- Learn more: How to create a Microsoft Teams account
In addition, there are features for meeting control. Teachers can mute participants, preventing them from unmuting themselves. Teachers can also create a waiting room where students must wait before joining the class. Group owners can delete cross-posts for easier removal of items posted in multiple channels. The mute feature will be available in early September.
Meeting admins can now create custom background policies to change the background image. In August, admins can create these policies when students participate in online learning.
Several other features have been added to make teaching and learning more seamless. First is the grade synchronization feature in Assignments with Student Information Systems (SIS). Microsoft will also introduce the automatic class group creation feature on Microsoft 365 Groups in School Data Sync (SDS) and an option for teachers to decide whether they want to create groups on Microsoft 365 Groups or not.
Teachers can also set group policies for specific user groups. There will also be early access API allowing teachers to lock specific classes, accessible only to teachers initially. All these features will be rolled out in August.
- Learn more: How to use Microsoft Teams
Teams Assignments are undergoing improvements, starting with viewing assignments for all classes or individual classes. Links in Assignments will also have a preview, appearing as thumbnails for the links. Teachers can anonymize tasks, hide assignments in specific cases, and set defaults for assignments such as submission time and whether students can preview tasks before joining class, ...
Other enhancements include a new user interface for assignments in large classes, refreshed icons, support for large files (up to 500MB), support for over 10 attachments simultaneously, and multilingual support. All will be available in August. The updated user interface is already available for large classes.
To enhance student engagement, Microsoft has integrated class materials into the Android app and will introduce the Brightspace D2L Course Connector in August. There will also be additional congratulatory animations to encourage students.
Finally, there will be a Reflect section allowing teachers to assess students' progress both inside and outside the classroom. This feature is expected to be available in early August.
One of the noteworthy features in Microsoft's educational support is the ability to create, assign, grade assignments for teachers, and receive students' online submissions. To explore and learn how to use these features, don't miss our article on submitting assignments on Microsoft Teams via computer or mobile devices.
