Kellogg Information Systems (KIS) Classroom & Educational Technologies

While Zoom is the primary virtual teaching platform integrated with Canvas for our degreed and non-degreed programs, we have various Executive Education clients requesting the usage of Microsoft Teams for teaching live virtual classes.

This resource is to help guide faculty on the steps to successfully teach on Teams. For 1:1 consultation to gain familiarity with Teams for teaching, schedule a consultation with Ishrat.

STEP 1: Download and Log into MS Teams

Via the desktop client (preferred)

1. Download the Teams desktop client.
2. Enter your Northwestern email address.
3. You will then be redirected to Online Passport.
4. Sign in with your NetID and NetID password.

Via the web

1. Go to https://teams.microsoft.com.
2. Enter your Northwestern email address.
3. You will be redirected to Online Passport.
4. Sign in with your NetID and NetID password. Note: If you are already signed in to Online Passport, you will go directly to Microsoft Teams.

STEP 2: MS Teams basics

The left nav contains icons for 1:1 or group chats, specific Teams as well as your calendar (connected to your Kellogg email).

Meeting Controls: mic/video, share screen, view chat & participants list

STEP 3: Sharing Content in a Meeting

How to share in MS Teams and view how your students will see your content.

Best Practices (and how to get around known issues)

1. Determine if you are teaching on NU’s MS Teams or client’s instance of MS Teams

   1. If Kellogg is hosting the meeting session
      1. Click the Join meeting link and ensure your audio, video and mic inputs are correct (see Step 2 above)
   2. If using the client’s instance of Teams, you will need to ensure you are logged in as Guest on their instance (not using your Northwestern account). Sometimes the NU one will get logged in automatically. Follow these steps in order:
      1. Get an invitation to join their MS Team setup for this class. Your Kellogg Executive Education program manager will ensure you get this invite.
      2. Click on the link to join. You will get prompted to verify your identity, and will need to enter your phone number for a call or text for a verification code (suggest selecting the verification code option).
      3. Once you join their Team with the account they created for you, your Teams client installed on your computer will use this account when you Join the actual class meeting.
      4. Locate the class meeting invite and Click Join. If you see Chat greyed out, this means you have logged in using your Northwestern account and will need to log out (and follow steps a-d again)

2. I cannot see gallery view while sharing my screen

   1. Teams does not allow you to pop out the gallery view in its own window like in Zoom. Unfortunately you will see video feeds in a film strip below your shared content. If you are okay with this, then do not follow the steps below. If you want to see more of your students video feeds while teaching:
      1. WORKAROUND: log into the Teams meeting using your web browser. The web version allows you to toggle between shared content and the gallery view.
         1. Remain logged into the meeting on the Teams Client
         2. Click on the same Join meeting link, and Click cancel to open the client. You will choose the option to join via web browser. Important: Do not transfer audio when joining (you want to remain connected.
         3. You will see the shared content being shared in the web browser window. Click on any video feed and you will see the content and gallery swap places.
         4. You may want to use a second monitor and move the web browser window to this screen (and place your webcam over this screen).

3. Teaching on Teams – advice from Eric Anderson

   1. Use earbuds vs. your speakers when on Teams.  In general, it is always good advice for faculty or moderators to wear earbuds as this eliminates the need for Teams/Zoom to do noise cancellation. Teams has historically been much worse than Zoom at noise cancellation.
   2. Never use Teams Breakout feature (as of Oct 2021).  Use Channels instead.
      1. The breakout feature on Teams simply doesn’t work very well.
      2. The alternative is to use Teams Channels.  A Teams moderator sets up channels on Teams and shares the links in either Chat or Email.  Faculty are assigned as participants in every channel, which allows you to visit any group.
      3. While in the Main meeting, a participant clicks on the link for their channel.  This opens up a new Teams session with the sub-group in their channel; by default, the Main room is now “On Hold”.  To return to the Main room, you simply click on the button for that room (there is icon for the main room on the Teams screen).  The Channel then goes “On Hold”.
      4. It is best practice to leave both the Main Room and Channel open with one of them “On Hold.”  Don’t close the Main Room.  If you do accidentally close the Main Room, you simply need to re-launch the Teams session.
      5. It is good practice to launch a session of Teams with Channels and practice this before you teach.
   3. A skilled moderator is very helpful when you use Channels on Teams
      1. A moderator will setup channels in advance
      2. A moderator will manage problems with channels.   A common problem is that a participant cannot get into a channel. The standard solution is for the moderator to join the channel, send a message/invite to the participant from the channel and “pull them in.”  This seems to be a fairly regular problem.
      3. A moderator can place files in Channels.  A nice feature of Teams is that you can host files in the Channel.  So, a moderator can place a Case and/or Discussion question files in the Teams channel.  When participants get to the channel, their files are waiting for them.  This can be particularly helpful for role playing exercises where you want to give different instructions/documents to channels.
      4. A moderator can retrieve files from the channels.  Participants can also upload files to their channel.  For example, their answers to a breakout session can be posted to the files section of their channel.  A moderator can then retrieve all the files and share with a faculty member.
   4. If you use Keynote, the Teams software (as of Oct 2021) does not recognize the application.  As a result, you need to share your entire screen and maximize Keynote to the size of your screen.
   5. Teams does not have some of the interactive features of  Zoom, like a Whiteboard.
   6. Have a 2^nd device and/or 2^nd screen.  In general, it is easier to teach online when you have a 2^nd screen.  With Teams, the 2^ndscreen is slightly more important if you are on a Mac and teaching with Keynote; it’s possible to teach from a single screen but a 2^nd screen really helps because you share your entire screen (vs. an application).   A second device is handy because it is often hard to know what is being shared on Teams. When you login on a 2^nd device you can see what the participants are seeing.  If you only have a single screen, the 2^nd device can serve as a 2^nd screen for viewing participants.