Virtual Lab Groups

for
Class Management
with
MS Teams
About MS Teams

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration application that helps you create a virtual group and stay
organized, work on coursework and have virtual conversations with team members —all in one
place. You and your partners can create a team, use chat instead of email, and securely edit
files or control a remotely accessed application/equipment at the same time.

Creating a Virtual Group in MS Teams

The best way to get familiar with MS Teams and know how to create teams, schedule and manage
meetings, upload and share files and folders, etc, is to watch the MS Teams training videos
posted at:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/microsoft-teams-video-training-4f108e54-240b-
4351-8084-b1089f0d21d7
1. For quick start, use the following guide to learn the Teams basics

Source:
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:C5SIXqS7V3wJ:https://edudownloads.azureedge.net/msdownloads/MicrosoftTeam
sforEducation_QuickGuide_EN-US.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

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 2. A quick guide on how to schedule a meeting is shown below

Source:
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:C5SIXqS7V3wJ:https://edudownloads.azureedge.net/msdownloads/MicrosoftTeam
sforEducation_QuickGuide_EN-US.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

3. For the best collaboration with your team members, it is recommended that you create
a lab team (virtual group). Follow these step to create your virtual group.

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4. You may choose to add partners later by clicking the (the three dots)
displayed next to your class team. Select Add member and follow the steps.

5. Add your Professor to your team. The professor can join your virtual lab session in case
help is needed.
6. For an easy and quick way to teleconference or videoconference a teammate or
partners without a prescheduled meeting, simply select a team (Fall 2020 in this
example), then select the video camera icon at the right-top corner then select Meet

now.

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7. Select Meet Now

8. If you are the teammember who starts the meeting, your name will be displayed as
Organizer under the People box shown at the right-hand side of the Teams window. The
team members SH and SS are used as lab partners for demonstration proposes in the
following steps.
9. Click on the three dots next to your partner and select Ask to join. Do the same thing to
invite your professor.

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10. The partner should click on Join now to join the meeting (lab session)

11. Follow the guide shown below to familiarize yourself with the meeting controls and
managing tools

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12. During the meeting, you and your team members can exchange roles, controls, and
screen sharing. To share the screen, you or your partner can click on the Open share
tray icon. Notice the small arrow in this icon. The arros in the icon indicates x once the
screen sharing starts. It turns back to the arrow when you stop screen sharing.

Screen sharing is inactive

The x in the Open share tray shown below indicates screen sharing mode.

Screen sharing is active

At any time, a team member can select the Request Control icon to take control of the
screen. Alternatively, the Organizer can select Give control to allow a partner to share
the screen control.

or,

If the above control bar is not shown on the window, hover the I-beam (with your
mouse) at the top of the window and the control bar will pop up.

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13. The small circles with SS and SH in the screenshot below indicate that both partners
have the control of the desktop activities through Teams app. Regardless of who will
open or start an application, both can manipulate the application, record observations,
change, edit, modify, etc.

14. As an example, a word document is opened to demonstrate shared control. Partner 1

started editing the word document as shown

Then, partner 2 modified the document with new editing as shown below

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15. At any time, a teammember can ask to stop their control by clicking on the Stop control
icon. Alternatively, you can cancel a partner's control from your side.

16. Each partner can save lab work. Also, you may choose to record the lab session for your
reference. Do not forget to have the consent of your partner before you start recording
(Privacy Policy) specifically when the video camera is turned on.