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Microsoft Teams: Teams for Study Groups

Why Teams?

There are plenty of options for setting up online study groups. Teams is a good option for VGCC students for several reasons:

  • Communicate through multiple channels: chat, message boards, VoiP phone calls, and online meetings.
  • Consolidate groups: if you have multiple study groups, you can view and manage them all in one platform.
  • Manage your own meetings: since students have full access, there's not need for someone with a Pro account to set anything up.
  • Share Files with your group and work on them together: Multiple people can work on Microsoft files, including those in Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, together, in real time, and it's easy to see who is making what changes.

Set Up a Group in Teams

Create a New Study Group

To set up a study group in Teams, someone first needs to create a team or group for members to join.

  1. In the Apps bar on the left of the screen, select the Teams button. If you do not see all of the teams to which you belong, click the Teams icon a second time.
    Screen capture of Microsoft Teams showing the Teams Panel. An arrow labled "Step 1" points to the Teams icon on the Apps Bar. Another arrow labeled "Step 2" points to the "Join or create team" button in the upper right of the window.

  2. In the top right corner of the window, select Join or create team.

  3. In the  next window, move your mouse to the Create a team box and click the button that appears.
    Screen capture of a window in Microsoft Teams. In the "Join or create a team" panel, there are 2 boxes: Create a team and Join team with a code. In the "Create a team" box, an arrow labeled "Click here" points to the "Create team" button, which is circled.

  4. Select Other as the team type.
    Screen capture of the "Select a team type" box in Microsoft Teams. The 4 options are "Class," "Professional Learning Community (PLC)," "Staff," and "Other." A "cancel" button is located in the lower right of the box. An arrow labeled "Click here" points at the "Other" box.

  5. Type a name for your study group, add a description (optional) and set Privacy to Private-Only team owners can add members then click Next. (Please note: If you leave your study group settings public, anyone in the VGCC network can view it, including those not in your class.)
    Screen capture of the Create your team window in Microsoft Teams. An arrow labeled "Enter group name" points to the text field under "Team Name." Another arrow, labeled "Select Private" points to the drop-down menu under "Privacy," where "Private- Only team owners can add members" is the option selected.

  6. In the next window, you can add group members. Start typing their VGCC email address, then select the correct person from the drop-down menu, or select Skip to do this another time.

  7. You will now be in the Teams window for your new group, To add, delete, or change status for group members, click the three dots for More options.
    Screen capture of the "Team" panel in Microsoft Teams. An arrow labeled "Click for more options" point to three dots next to the team name. The drop-down menu has the following options: Manage team, Add channel, Add member, Leave the team, Edit team, Get link to team, Manage tags, and Delete the team.

  8. To return to your list of teams, click the Teams button again.

Have a Study Session

Start a Meeting

  1. To start a new meeting immediately, go to the team you want to work in, then in the upper right corner, select Meet. Screen Capture of a channel in Microsoft Teams. An arrow labeled "Click Here" point to the Meet button in the upper right of the window.

  2. In the pop-up window, you can toggle your video on or off. To start the meeting click the Meet Now button.Screen capture of part of the meeting start window in Microsoft Teams. An arrow labeled "Toggle camera Off/On" points to a toggle button next to a video camera icon on the left side. A second arrow, labeled "Click Here to start meeting" points to the Meet now button on the right.

  3. On the right side of the meeting window, start typing in the names or email addresses of people you want to invite to the meeting, or select from the Suggestions.
    Screen capture from Microsoft Teams. Arrow labeled "Add meeting participants here..." points to a text entry box labeled "Invite Someone." A second arrow below the first, labeled "...or select from here" points to a list of contacts under the Suggestions heading.
  4. To see your meeting controls, move the mouse over the meeting window. Among other actions, these controls allow you to share your screen, see the text chat, and mute your microphone. Click the "More Actions" button (looks like three dots), for other options.
  5. To leave the meeting, click the red Hang Up button.
    Screen capture of the Microsoft Teams meeting controls. An arrow labeled "Click here to end meeting" points to the "Hang Up" button on the far right of the control bar.

Join a meeting

  1. Invitees signed in to Teams will receive a pop-up window inviting them to the meeting. Click Accept to access. You can also join the meeting from your Alerts by clicking Join.
    Screen capture of a pop-up invitation to a Microsoft Teams meeting. An arrow labeled "Invitees click here to join meeting" points to the Accept button.Screen capture of a Microsoft Teams meeting notification. An arrow labeled "...or here to join the active meeting" points to the Join button on the left side.

  2. A new window pops up. Click Accept.
    Screen capture of the new pop-up window. An arrow labeled "Invitees click here to join meeting" points at the Join now button.

  3. To leave the meeting, click the red Hang Up button.
    Screen capture of the Microsoft Teams meeting controls. An arrow labeled "Click here to end meeting" points to the "Hang Up" button on the far right of the control bar.

Need help?  Contact the VGCC Library.