Microsoft announced the latest updates to Teams for Education, designed to improve the teaching and learning experience. Here’s a quick overview of the new features:
1. Classwork in Microsoft Teams for Education
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- Modules for organizing content by topic or week.
- Draft state for module creation and content sharing.
- Pinning modules for easy student access.
- The planned future addition of content reuse.
2. Learning Accelerators – Search Progress
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- Promoting information literacy skills.
- Introduced Search Coach and Search Progress.
- Research project assignments with Search Progress.
- In-depth evaluation and metrics for assignments.
3. Learning Accelerators – Reading Progress updates:
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- Enhancements to Reading Progress app.
- Added comprehension questions for assessment.
- Reading with Expression update for prosody assessment.
4. Assignments and Grades Updates:
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- New launch experience for learning accelerators.
- Support for various grading schemes in Assignments.
- Quick Actions for Assignment list management.
- Multi-Publish support for Assignments.
- Timed Quiz configuration within Assignments.
5. Updates in Reflect:
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- New check-in creation with customizable questions.
- Together View as the default view for insights.
- Improved management options for check-ins.
6. Grid Layout for Teams on Mobile:
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- Improved grid layout for mobile devices.
- New navigation and access to EDU apps.
7. Announcements in Teams’ Parent App:
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- Bulk announcements to parents through Parent App.
8. New Toolbar UI in Whiteboard:
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- Revamped Whiteboard canvas with key tools.
- The toolbar is repositioned at the bottom for usability.
9. SharePoint Calendar Webpart in Viva Connections:
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- Teams Calendar added as Webpart in Viva Connections.
- Focused view of user’s schedule with collab actions.
- Personal and group calendar contexts for meetings.
With these updates, Microsoft seems to be committed to enhancing the educational journey for educators and students; hopefully, it will empower them with tools for effective learning.