Accessing Teams

If your instructor uses Microsoft Teams for course meetings and/or office hours, there are a couple of different ways to access it:

1. Through the course widget:  There is a widget on the course homepage called Microsoft Teams.  Simply click the Open Your Team to launch the Teams desktop application (or web application).

2. Through the Teams application: Launch the Teams application (desktop or web) and click the Teams icon.

Teams Meeting/Course Page

1. You can see all available Teams in which you are a member in the listing.  Simply click the Team in which you need to access the course meeting/chat.
2. On the General channel, you’ll see any conversations/chats that have occurred in the class to date.
3. To start a new conversation, you can click the button to do so.  Or if there is an existing chat, you can reply to keep the conversation going.
4. If your instructor has posted files or refers to Cobra Learning, you can access them through additional links.  They might also have other apps here as well, such as Q & A, Wiki, whiteboard, etc.
5. If you click the camera icon in the upper right corner, you can start a video meeting/chat now if anyone is in the meeting with you.  Or you may see a “Join Now” button if there is a scheduled meeting taking place.
6. Note that there is a “Help” icon in the lower left corner of the screen that contains many helpful links for training, features, etc.

Teams Live Meeting

When you click the Join Now button, you will be taken to a staging page where you check your computer/device audio and video settings to ensure that you are ready to meet with your class.

When you are ready, click the “Join Now” button to enter the live meeting.  Upon initial login, you will see the participants list and anyone who is already in the meeting.

Note the other icons at the top of the screen.

The chat option will open the meeting chat pane for you to engage in conversation with others in the meeting as an alternative to using microphones.  Some instructors may mute participants and ask you to type your questions/comments in the chat box instead.

The next option is the emoji option where you can select to give a thumbs up, “love” something using the heart, applause, laugh, wow or raise your hand to be called on to ask a question.

The next icon may or may not appear for you as a meeting member and may only be available if your instructor sets up breakout rooms.

The three dots indicate “More Actions” in which you may have options available to change your gallery view, set up device settings, switch screen views, apply background effects, use live captions or transcription, etc.  (NOTE: not all of these options shown may be available to you depending upon your role in the meeting and the organizer’s meeting settings).

The next three icons represent your camera toggle on/off, your  microphone toggle on/off (both can be set by your instructor), the screen share option, and the Leave button.

If you have been asked to share your screen, you will need to be promoted to a “presenter” by the meeting organizer.  Members of a meeting cannot share their screen.  Once available to share your screen, you will have some options for doing so.

To leave a meeting, you simply click the Leave button.  When you leave a meeting, you will still have access to the chat that occurred before, during, and after the meeting.   Additionally, if the meeting was recorded, you will see the link to the recording both in the chat as well as under the Files option of the Team/course meeting page.

Additional Help

As stated earlier in this guide, there is a help icon at the lower left of the Teams window that can give you a variety of options for help with using Teams.