Summary
Bellevue College provides technology that students can use to collaborate with their classmates and instructors remotely. The primary tool for online collaboration between classmates is Canvas. However, in some cases, your instructor may prompt you to connect to the course remotely using Microsoft Teams. This article will explain how to join your instructor's class using Teams. We will discuss how to get the software, and how to find any teams you may have been invited to.
What is Teams, and how do I access it?
Teams is a collaboration application that is a part of the Office 365 suite from Microsoft. Instructors can use Teams to provide lectures, facilitate group discussions, and teach classes remotely. Being that Microsoft Teams is an Office 365 application, all currently-enrolled students are able to download and use Teams, in addition to the entire Microsoft Office 2019 suite.
Download and install Teams on a Mac or Windows computer:
- Navigate to https://teams.microsoft.com in your favorite web browser.
- Sign in with your Bellevue College email address.
- This will open up the Teams web application.
- To install the desktop app on your personal device, you can download it by clicking on the Download Desktop App icon, located at the bottom left-hand corner of the Teams app, just below the Help button. The Teams desktop app (~93Mb) will start installing.
- After the download is completed, install Teams by double-clicking on the Teams installer.
Teams also works with your smartphone! Please note that certain features such as video meetings will perform best via a fast, stable WiFi internet connection.
To download and install the Teams app on either an iPhone or Android phone:
- Navigate to either the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).
- Search for Microsoft Teams, and proceed to the correct search result.
- Select Get (iOS) or Install (Android).
- This will download and install the application on your phone.
How do I find my class in Teams?
In certain cases, it may be necessary to connect to your class remotely. In that event, your instructor will have created a team specifically for your class.
If you need to connect to your class via Teams, and you have already downloaded, installed, and opened Teams on your device, you can access your class' team by clicking the Teams button in the left-hand navigation bar (or in the bottom navigation bar on your smartphone). Once you have selected the Teams button, you will be able to see any teams that you are a part of.
More information about using Teams
There are multiple ways to interact with your instructor and classmates using Teams. The following examples include links to online guides that provide more examples of features you may end up using with your classmates and instructor.
- If your instructor wishes to lecture remotely via Teams, they can send out an invitation for you to join a meeting through Teams
- You can navigate the team and channels that your classmates have been provided with by your instructor
- You, your classmates, and an instructor can create posts or messages in a team set up specifically for your class, or for a project you are working on
- Join a meeting or view your Activity Feed using your smartphone, allowing you to collaborate with your classmates on-the-go
Finally, if more information is required, be sure to check out our Microsoft Teams Quickstart article. In that article, we've provided some quickstart materials to get you up and running, as well as provided links to more in-depth content.