Meet virtually with learners, families, and staff

  • 5 minutes

Microsoft Teams is a powerful tool for educators to stay connected to learners, families, and colleagues. Teams lets educators create, attend, and run meetings with many features that enhance engagement and collaboration.

Instant polling

Instant polling helps educators to get real-time feedback during a meeting. Educators can quickly choose from three binary option pairs—Yes or No, Thumbs Up Thumbs Down, Heart or Broken Heart—and send a poll question. Attendees can vote and see the animated results on their screen.

Screenshot of a live poll in a Teams meeting.

Microsoft Whiteboard

Microsoft Whiteboard is a visual collaboration canvas that allows educators and learners to create and share rich content. Educators can design interactive whiteboards in advance and open them in a Teams meeting. They can also embed videos from various sources to provide multiple means of engagement for different learners.

Screenshot of a whiteboard in a Teams meeting with contributions from attendees.

Together mode

Together mode in Teams meetings uses AI to place all the participants on a shared background, creating a sense of being in the same room. Together mode can help reduce fatigue, improve attention, and foster social connection in online classes.

Teams meetings for learning

Teams meetings aren't only for remote learning. Educators can use Teams meetings in many ways. With learners and parents, educators can:

  • Host tutoring sessions
  • Meet with parents
  • Allow absent learners to join class remotely
  • Encourage collaboration among learners
  • Host virtual field trips
  • Invite guest speakers
  • Facilitate club meetings

Teams meetings for collaboration

Collaboration with a team is crucial for success. But sometimes, getting a whole team to meet in the same place can be hard. Teams solves this problem by providing a virtual conference room for staff to meet no matter where they are. Teams also simplifies scheduling by finding a time that works for everyone.

Screenshot showing how Microsoft Teams's Scheduling Assistant helps find a time what works for all meeting attendees.

With colleagues, educators can use Teams meetings to:

  • Hold regular staff meetings
  • Hold special meetings to introduce new initiatives
  • Collaborate on curriculum design
  • Connect with other educators for professional development opportunities
  • Create virtual professional learning communities (PLCs)
  • Conduct class observations
  • Host a book club
  • Brainstorm solutions to common class challenges

Teams meetings are designed to help educators stay connected to learners, families, and colleagues.