Microsoft launches ‘Teams for Education’ features to support new remote and hybrid learning formats

With an aim to engage and prepare students and teachers for new remote and hybrid learning formats in the upcoming school year, Microsoft has now launched ‘Teams for Education’ that include expanded audience view of up to 49 participants, custom backgrounds, class insights, and virtual breakout rooms, among other new features.

After carrying out a survey with nearly 500 members of the Microsoft Education community, comprising teachers and institutional leaders from around the world, Microsoft discovered that there has been a strong uptake in the use of remote learning tools. Around 61 percent expect to begin the next school year in a hybrid learning environment—a mix of remote and in-person learning—and 87 percent said they expect to use technology more in physical classrooms.

“It’s more important than ever to help educators find ways to connect with students and keep them engaged, motivated, and safe in a digital world. It is inspiring to see how technology is helping educators and students maintain learning continuity,” said Manish Prakash, Country General Manager-Public Sector, Health and Education, Microsoft India.

Microsoft academic solutions is enabling learning and continuity schools in India. The British School in New Delhi moved to Microsoft Teams to enable its teachers and students interact and collaborate in remote learning scenarios. Others such as The Ardee School in New Friends Colony (NFC) had started with remote learning via Teams even before the schools were shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving to Teams has provided teachers new tools to engage with their students remotely. While some teachers are using Kahoot quizzes at the end of their classes, others are encouraging students to create and share content using Sway, Buncee, and Paint 3D. To replicate the test environment, teachers are also sharing Microsoft Forms on Teams, which they need to fill and send back.

In order to create compelling, engaging, and inclusive content to ensure strong student engagement under new remote learning formats, educators are turning to a central hub of digital tools for remote learning across different activities while maintaining secure learning environments.

The new ‘Teams for Education’ features are aimed at increasing student participation and give educators’ new methods to keep students digitally engaged.

1. Accommodate 49 participants at once on a single screen: Teams will be expanding its grid view to 7×7, accommodating up to 49 participants to boost student engagement, as well as social and emotional connection. Previews will be available later this month and available more widely later in the year.
2. Virtual breakout rooms: Educators will be able to create virtual breakout sessions for students to meet and collaborate in small groups closer to the end of the year.
3. Enhancing student participation: In ‘Teams for Education’, students can digitally Raise Their Hands during class meetings. Educators can also see Attendance Reports and, later in the year, view Class Insights, an intelligent data analytics breakdown on student engagement in class, rate of assignments turned in, activity metrics and grades, with a new trends view.
4. Meeting Lobby: Maintaining student security and control over the classroom experience is critical. New meeting options in Teams prevent students from starting meetings unattended, allows educators to determine who can present in a meeting, and give educators the ability to ensure only assigned students can join a meeting.
5. Customized images and personalize learning spaces: With people working, living, and learning in shared spaces at home, in addition to using background blur and pre-selected background images, students and teachers can customize their own images and as a result, personalize their own learning space.
6. Partner integrations: ‘Teams for Education’ now also includes integrations with Kahoot, Prezi, GO1, Nearpod, Piazza, Gaggle, Moodle, Canvas, and others. Microsoft will continue to add partner integrations making it easier for schools and universities to use Teams.

Microsoft will also continue working with a number of global non-governmental and non-profit organizations like UNESCO and UNICEF to harness technical expertise to support communities around the world with the highest need.

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