What is Teams?
Teams is a handy collaboration platform that provides individual or group chat options, audio calls, video meetings, and a place to store and share files. It’s great for departmental teams, work groups or cross-divisional project teams, and lets you communicate with anyone in the MSU directory.
Check out this brief (less than three-minute) overview video from Microsoft.
Accessing Teams
Access Teams from your computer or download the application for your tablet or mobile device. Teams is available from all divisional computers. To locate Teams, click Start > Microsoft Teams, then log in when prompted as described in the next section. If Teams is not already installed, install it from the Software Center (Start > Microsoft System Center > Software Center > Applications). If you are working on an laptop from a location off campus, you may need to connect through the Virtual Private Network (VPN) to install through Software Center. Step-by-step instructions for installing optional software are available in this separate knowledge base article.
Logging In to Teams
The first time you launch Teams, you will be prompted to log in. If you are using a computer on the RHSNet, Teams may guess that you want to log in with an @rhs.msu.edu ID and password. You will need to change the account and specify your MSUNetID (@msu.edu) login information.
Training and Resources
Requesting a Team
It is highly recommended that you learn about Teams through training resources before requesting a Team. At MSU, you can request a team be created by filling out a request form to MSU IT. The form is available at the SharePoint site referenced in the previous section. Please follow the below best practices when requesting a team.
Access to Dial-in Meeting Options
By default, all team members can join virtual meetings using the "computer" audio via a microphone (or web cam). If you will be the organizer of a meeting where participants may need to dial in from a phone, you should request a special license add-on from MSU IT before in advance of creating your meeting invitation. Your meeting will not have any dial-in options unless you have that license. To contact MSU IT, visit tdx.msu.edu.
Best Practices
- Keep the number of teams you request to a minimum. It is best to request a larger team, then use channels for sub-teams or committees.
- If you are requesting an SLE team, please propose a name that follows this format: "SLE Your Department Abbreviation] [Team/Committee Name]."
- Always request at least two owners so you can share team administration duties and have someone to take over managing the team if you change roles.
- When filling out the request form, you will be asked which type of team is desired. The team type determines the template used and features that are automatically set up for your team.
- The "Anyone" (general) team is the most common and basic team type. You can still make this a private team by invitation only.
- Staff Team is for a formal supervisor to work with their subordinates. It includes separate private channels for communicating with each team member.
- The Professional Learning Community (PLC) team is for general collaboration and learning. It follows a PLC methodology and includes a complex OneNote notebook tailored to this purpose.
Teams Retention and Privacy
Per MSU IT, Teams individual or group chats are stored in the cloud server and never deleted. They could be requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but unless a FOIA request is made, they are considered private and personal and would not be viewed by any system administrators.
Security for the environment meets all guidelines for the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), but team members should never reference confidential data like Social Security or Credit Card numbers in Teams.
Meeting Roles and Recording
Microsoft Teams allows recording of meetings and this function is needed by some instructors or meeting organizers. If someone records the meeting, a banner shows up for all participants that recording has started. The person recording should also tell all participants that they are recording.
By default, everyone invited to a meeting is considered a “presenter” who can record. The meeting organizer can change this for individual meetings (or a meeting series), but they must first create the meeting through Outlook calendar or the Calendar application inside Teams. If you are the organizer, after saving/sending the meeting invitation, go to your Teams calendar and edit the meeting. Make sure to directly invite anyone who may be presenting to the meeting. Only when editing a previously sent meeting, can you see a Meeting Options link. Clicking this takes you to a website where you can change who can present (Everyone, People in your organization, Specific people or Just you). Presenters have special privileges and everyone who is not a presenter will have an Attendee role. Attendees cannot record.
Here is a brief Microsoft article that describes what Organizers, Presenters and Attendees can do.
MS Teams Meeting Roles Article.
The roles are also referenced on this (third party) web page that explains how to do all the steps and includes screenshots.
Third-party Article