There are a number of names that have suddenly become a part and parcel of our everyday lives thanks to the pandemic and the subsequent lock down we have suffered. Online learning and online classrooms have become the new normal. Yet, this new trend also showed us gaping holes in our technology. Names like Zoom and Microsoft Teams have become commonplace in the grand scheme of things and our everyday lives pretty much start and begin here.
Microsoft Teams is a popular software that has been used along with many others, to make the lives of students easy. This is a software that allows you to place video calls to a number of people at one time so that the teacher can teach all the students in a virtual classroom like setup. Microsoft Teams comes with a number of features that can help people conduct classes, meetings, webinars and a lot more. It is also compatible with all Windows computers and laptops, which makes life that much easier. While Microsoft Teams was basically designed and used by corporates and working people so that they could keep in touch with the rest of the team members and remote workers spread out all over the globe or the country, the pandemic also forced teachers and schools to turn to this software for the conduct of online classes.
Now, Microsoft recognized this fact and decided to create something we now know as Microsoft Teams for Education. This path breaking software has been designed specifically for schooling, which also brings the EdTech space up to speed. This means that students in remote places in India and similar developing countries can also pursue their education.
Amongst one of the many features in the new interface is the ability to bring in 49 participants in a single screen and zoom into more than one participant at a time. This is of great importance since it also helps in recreating the campus and classroom experience for the students as well as the teachers. Further, with virtual breakout rooms, the teacher will be able to organize the students into smaller groups for break sessions and for discussions and project work as well. Additionally, the raise your hand feature will also help in increasing student participation in the classroom.
The analytics in the back end of this software will also show the teacher and the parents of the students what the quality of participation has been, for each individual child or student, in the classroom. This takes the software to a whole other level of EdTech – and a much needed one. Because, if we can have analytics for the performance of our marketing plans and social media pages online, why not for students attending school and college online as well? Plus, it also records and shows the rate of assignment submission by the student.
Meeting lobbies and partner integrations for co teachers and other staff members as well as parent and teacher interaction makes this software or app ideal for online learning. Let’s just say – this is the future of education!
