Microsoft Teams & Zoom

Many Pierpont instructors use Microsoft Teams or Zoom to meet with their students, especially in online classes.

Using Teams or Zoom is easy when you get the hang of it. 

This varies by instructor and class.

Check your syllabus and/or contact your instructor for specific information.

If you have questions or problems, 

contact Pierpont's IT

help@pierpont.edu

304-333-3731 or 304-333-3701

The video that you see on the sign-in page is what others in the class or meeting will see.

If you do not want to change anything (video, audio), just click "Join now."

If you are already in the meeting, you can click on the 3 dots and "More," which will open a menu.  Click on "Settings," which opens a second menu.  Click on "Device Settings."

On the device settings menu you can check your speakers, your microphone, and your video settings. 

If you need help with any of this, enter the meeting if you are not in it and share what is happening with your instructor.  If the issue is that they cannot hear you, type the information into the chat box, which is explained later on this page. 

If you need to leave the meeting for whatever reason and return, you can do that as look as the person who created the Teams meeting has not ended the meeting. 

If you are in a place that you prefer people not to see, you can use background filters.

Click on "Background filters" below your picture.  When you find the filter you like, click on it.

To close the background setting section, click on the "X" on the upper right.

When you move or hold things up, like the paper in the picture below, it sometimes looks blurry or disappears.  This is normal when background settings are used. 

When you join the meeting, this is what you will see. Your picture will be small and on the bottom. 

If there are other people in the meeting, you will be part of a grouping of pictures of everyone who is attending.

On the top of the picture, there is a toolbar of options.

If you prefer not to be seen, you can click on the camera, and a diagonal line will appear on the camera.

To turn the camera back on, just click on the camera picture again, and the diagonal line will disappear. 

If you don't want to speak, turn off the microphone (mic). Like the camera, just click on microphone picture again to turn it back on. 

It is a good idea to turn the microphone off right away so people don't hear what is happening around you.

Many times a meeting organizer will mute (make silent) all of the participants' microphones if the participants do not mute their microphones themselves. 

You can connect with the other members using the 'chat' function.

Click on 'chat,' which will open a window.  You type your message and click enter.

To close the chat window, click on the X on the top right of the chat window. 

If your instructor is asking you to do something in Teams that you do not know how to do, don't be shy.  Many people don't know, which is why there are instructional videos.

Ask the instructor how to do it.

Below is a PDF copy of Microsoft Teams: Quick Start Guide

For more information about other Teams options, check out Microsoft Teams tutorials on YouTube or contact one of your resources.

Resources

Pierpont's Information Technology (IT) - help@pierpont.edu  

Pierpont's Support Services - access@pierpont.edu   304-534-7878

If you need to join the meeting by making a phone call (without video).

Call the phone number listed below the meeting link under "Or call in (audio only)."  If it asks for a meeting ID, type in the "Phone Conference ID" listed below the phone number.

If you have trouble with this, contact your instructor immediately.  They might not get back to you right away.  

If this is during Pierpont's business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm), contact your resources shown above.