What is Teams?

Microsoft Teams is an online work space for users. Inside a team, users are able to collaborate and communicate, hold meetings, and share files, all in real-time!

If you need help working with Teams, click the button below.

Getting Started!

Follow the steps below to learn how to create a class team.

This is a screenshot the "Join or create team" button in Microsoft Teams.

Step 1:

  • From your Office 365 account, select the Teams apps.

  • On the left menu bar, select "Teams".

  • In the upper right hand corner, select "Join or Create Team"

Step 2:

  • You are given two options: Create Team or Join a Team with a Code.

  • To Create a Team, click the button.

  • If you are joining someone else's team, you can do so by entering the Team Code for that team.

  • You can also create a team and share a team code with your students to have them join your team!

This is a screenshot of the options for joining or creating a team. There are two boxes of information. One box says "Create a team" and a button that says "Create team" is selected/emphasized with a label saying "Click to create a NEW team." The other box says "Join a team with a code" with a text box below it that says "enter code" and text below that that says "Got a code to join a team? Enter it above. An arrow is on the screenshot pointing at the "Enter Code" text box with a label that says "If a team has already been created, other users can join it with a Team Code that they enter here."
This is a screenshot of the types of teams that can be created in Microsoft Teams. There are four types separated in boxes. They are: Class - discussions, group projects, assignments (this is selected/emphasized), Professional Learning Community (PLC) - Educator working group, Staff - School administration and development, and Other - clubs, study groups, after school activities.

Step 3:

  • When you Create a Team, you have four types that can be created.

  • As educators, the two main ones that you will use are:

      • Class

      • Profession Learning Community (PLC)

  • Select Class

Step 4:

  • Give your class a name and description (optional)

  • Select Next

This is a screenshot of a settings box that appears when Creating a Team. The Create Your Team box says, "Teachers are owners of class teams and students participate as members. Each class team allows you to create assignments and quizzes, record student feedback, and give your students a private space for notes in Class Notebook." There are then two text boxes - Name and Description (optional). The Name box has a label that says "Must name your class to move on." and the Description box has a label that says "Have the option to give a description". There are two buttons at the button, Cancel and Next.
This is a screenshot of the settings box that appears when one is adding people to a team. The box has two tabs, Students and Teachers with Students being selected. In then shows a "search for students" text box with a button that says "add" that is emphasized. Under the textbox a message states, "Start typing a name to choose a group, distribution list, or person at your school". At the bottom of the settings is a button that says "Skip" with a label that says "You can skip this step and add students later."

Step 5:

  • Add students and teachers (if necessary) to your class.

  • Search for the names by typing each student's name and selecting "Add".

  • From the ESP Resource Center under the Student Log-Ins report, you can copy the email addresses of an entire class and paste it here, as well.

  • You can also skip this entire step and add students at a later time (or with a class code as previously described).

  • Once all students are in your class is created and you can begin adding content.

  • Class notebooks are automatically created when making a Class Team!

Learn More!

Click the video to learn more about the features and management of a Class Team!

Disable Teams from Start-Up

If you do not want Teams to automatically start when you log-in to your computer, follow these quick steps to disable that feature.

This is a screenshot of the menu that appears from clicking your profile icon in Teams. The dropdown menu provides the following options: Busy, Set status message, Saved, Settings (which is selected/emphasized), Zoom, Keyboard shortcuts, About, Check for Updates, Download the mobile app, Sign out.

Step 1:

  • In Teams, select your profile icon at the top right corner of the window.

  • Select "Settings"

This is a screenshot of the Settings options in Teams. The options under settings include: General (which is selected/emphasized), Privacy, Notifications, Devices, Permissions, and Calls. Under General, there are options to change Theme, Application, and Language. Under Application, there are several options to toggle on/off: Auto-start application (which is selected and identified), Open application in background, On close, keep the application running, Disable GPU hardware (requires restarting Teams), and Register Teams as the chat app for Office (requires restarting Office applications).

Step 2:

  • Select the box for "Auto-start application" to toggle it off.