Teams can send you notifications to let you know about missed activity, and it’s also possible to use mentions to target activity at specific users to ensure they receive your posts or updates. 

There are a number of options for notification management and we encourage you to set up something that suits you.

Chats form part of meetings, but it’s also possible to initiate a chat outside of a meeting. This could be an instant messaging conversation with a peer, tutor or group. While some users are happy to be chatted to, others may prefer a more formal approach to communication such as email or a Moodle forum. If you feel starting a chat is appropriate, the Chat option in the sidebar allows you to start a new chat.

Teams are a collection of channels. Each team offers a space to collaborate on files, hold meetings and share discussions. You can see your current teams from the Teams tab in the side pane of Microsoft Teams. 

Channels are a way to structure a team,; they allow you to focus discussion and collaboration around a particular topic or theme. 

• Standard Channels: These are available to all team members and simply offer a way to structure your team into separate areas. Each channel can be aligned to specific topics, discussions, or themes.

• Private Channels: Private channels allow you to restrict discussions to specific users within the team. No-one outside of the private channel members and owners will have access to the channel or its content. 

Microsoft Teams is a social and collaborative environment, so it’s important to consider others when using it. 

Please familiarise yourself with colleague guidance for meeting ‘netiquette’.

Almost all modules at Royal Holloway have an associated class team in Microsoft Teams, but not all of your tutors will choose to use it. A class team is a series of resources, channels and apps in Microsoft Teams that have been curated by the team owner (usually the module tutor) for access by any students enrolled on the module.  

To locate your class teams, go to the Teams option in the side bar. All of your Teams will be displayed, and there are options to filter or adjust the layout. 

If you cannot find a class team, first contact your school administration team who can confirm that you are registered on the associated module. If you still have issues, contact the IT Service Desk.

You should discuss with your tutors their expectations for how the team environment will be used; it is likely this will differ between class teams. It could be a place to seek peer support or start a discussion, a place for live sessions or meetings, or even a location for files or resources, including collaborative documents. 

There is likely to be some overlap with Moodle, so you may want to clarify what is expected to occur in the team and what activities will be completed elsewhere. 

Teams is most commonly used for group activities, and you can hold live meetings with peers or collaborate within channels. Private channels may have been setup by your tutor to support group collaboration.

Class teams from previous academic years are archived; this process is designed to preserve them for your reference. Once the team is archived, no-one will be able to start new conversations or reply to posts in a channel, add or remove channels, edit team settings, or add apps.  

To find and view archived teams, go to the Teams option in the side bar. Use the More Options cog to reveal a dropdown, and select Manage Teams. Towards the bottom of this view, there is an expandable list of archived teams.

While most of the teaching at Royal Holloway is not undertaken online, there may be rare occasions where a live session is delivered through Microsoft Teams. You will be notified if you are expected to attend on Teams. 

The most common way that online sessions are delivered is within a channel in the associated class team. You should visit the team a few minutes before the session starts and wait for the session to appear as a post in the channel. When the session begins, a Join button will be visible. Click it to enter the web conference. 

Occasionally, you may be invited to a Teams meeting directly. This could be to undertake a learning activity, to meet with a peer or colleague or to access a service or training activity. Commonly, this type of meeting will be emailed to you, and you will find a direct link in the calendar invitation. You can also visit the Calendar tab in the Teams software to access the link. Click the link to enter the meeting, you may need to wait to be admitted if there is a meeting lobby.

When you join a meeting, there are several options that allow you to interact and participate as an attendee: 

People: View and manage meeting participants and invite others to the meeting. 

Chat: View the chat pane of instant messages related to the meeting. 

Reactions: You can react to happenings in the meeting, for example using the clapping reaction at the end of a presentation to show that you enjoyed it.  

Raise: Participants can also raise their hand from this section. 

Rooms: This is where you can setup and configure breakout rooms, only users with the appropriate role within the meeting will see this option. 

Apps: Apps can be added to the meeting, the list of available apps at Royal Holloway is controlled by IT Services. 

More: A series of other options including things such as recording and transcription, participant layout, lobby and meeting options etc. Please note, students cannot initiate recordings in Microsoft Teams. 

Camera: Turn your webcam on and off. 

Mic: Mute and unmute your microphone when you’re speaking. 

Share: Share your screen or specific applications like PowerPoint Live or Whiteboard.

Students at Royal Holloway do not have the ability to initiate meeting recordings in Microsoft Teams.

Staff members are able to record meetings and you will be notified if a meeting is being recorded. Not all teaching sessions are suitable for recording, and not all lecture recordings are made using Microsoft Teams. You should speak to your department if you have queries about accessing recorded material for revision or other purposes.

Undergraduate students cannot record meetings in this way. If you are a postgraduate student recording for research purposes, please contact the IT Service Desk to see if you are eligible for an exception.

Recordings must be: 

• subject to a data management plan, meaning that the students are aware of privacy and data concerns, and have plans to remove and/or securely store the data when they have finished using it. 

• be required by a research project or assignment and sponsored by an academic or relevant staff member. 

• conducted by a postgraduate student only.