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Microsoft has launched ‘Teams for Education’ feature to engage and prepare students and teachers for new remote and hybrid learning formats. These features include expanded audience view of up to 49 participants, custom backgrounds, class insights, and virtual breakout rooms.
Aimed at increasing student participation and give educators new methods to keep students digitally engaged, Teams will expand its grid view to 7×7, accommodating up to 49 participants. The company said that previews will be available later this month.
In ‘Teams for Education’, students can digitally raise their hands during class meetings. Educators can also see Attendance Reports and, later in the year, will be able to 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.
New meeting options in Teams will prevent students from starting meetings unattended, allow teachers to determine who can present in a meeting, and give them the ability to ensure only assigned students can join a meeting, thus maintaining student security and control over the classroom experience. Microsoft surveyed nearly 500 members of the Microsoft Education community, comprising teachers and institutional leaders from around the world and found that there has been a strong uptake in the use of remote learning tools. About 61 per cent expect to begin the next school year in a hybrid learning environment a mix of remote and in-person learning and 87 per cent said they expect to use technology more in physical classrooms.
Many teachers and faculty have been incorporating new tools into their lessons, often for the first time and students are experiencing new methods of learning, which will have an important, lasting impact on their future. With this transition, it has become clear that with the required physical distance between teachers and students, 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, said Manish Prakash, Country General Manager-Public Sector, Health and Education, Microsoft India.
