Microsoft Teams for ESU

Microsoft Teams is now being rolled out to students of Emporia State to utilize! Teams is a speedy and productive communication tool for students, faculty, and staff to use! We have been going through all of the options that could be a valuable tool to incorporate within the class and office. We will be going through all of the basics of what you need to know, walkthroughs to follow along with, and screen recordings to make things a little easier. 

Downloading and Logging in

The first thing you would need to do is download Teams for your device, whether it be an application on your phone or your personal computer. To download Teams, you would paste “esutechsite.com/teams” in your URL bar at the top of your browser. Click “Get Teams”, you’ll then be taken to a Microsoft page that will detect the appropriate version for your device, then click “Download Now”. Run the installer or follow the prompts for your device.

Now that you have Teams, it’s time to log in. When prompted, enter yourusername@emporia.edu, even if you don’t have an @emporia.edu email account. Yes, use @emporia.edu, even if you don’t have an @emporia.edu email address. In Microsoft Land, it’s just part of your account. And remember you can’t use your @g.emporia.edu address--that's Google services only. And that’s it, you are not all set to begin using Microsoft Teams at ESU.

Creating a Group

Microsoft Teams is a tool for securely chatting, video calling, and collaborating with your group, team, or other students. You can chat with one, two, or as many ESU users as you’d like. But for ESU groups and student organizations, we can set up a special team that has your members preloaded for you. 

This is called a SharePoint Group for students. In addition to maintaining a list of group members, your SharePoint Group will also provide online file storage for hosting any files you share within Teams. To request a SharePoint Group, go to esutechsite.com/teams, and select "Teams for Students". Scroll down to Groups. Click “Request a SharePoint Group for Students”. Only advisors or organizational leadership should make requests.

Once your request is approved by the Center for Student Involvement, you’ll be able to access your new Group by clicking the “Teams” Icon from the left-hand menu bar within the Teams application. Once we’ve set up your Group, you can add or remove membership through the web portal or via the IT Help Desk!

Video Calling

You can do a video call with one, two, or as many ESU students as you’d like. Simply click the “New Chat” icon. Enter the name or username of the user or users you’d like to call.

You can video call an individual or add as many users to your group call as you’d like. With one click, you can start a video call with your entire group! And if you or your users don’t have a webcam, they can still join via audio. With Microsoft Teams, you have on click communication with individuals--however, you prefer to collaborate. 

Sharing Files

Sharing files is easy within Teams, start a new chat or go to an existing one. Or if you are an ESU group or organization, click "Teams" and then go to your group. Now, click the paper clip icon and select the file you’d like to share. Type a message if you’d like, then click the “send” icon. 

That’s it! Now that you have shared the file within anyone in that chat or Group.

To see your previously shared files, click "Files" at the top of the chat window. 

Chat + History

You can chat with any ESU user that you would like, simply click on the “New Chat” icon. Enter the name or username of the user or users you’d like to chat with.

You can chat individually, or add as many ESU users to your chat as you’d like. Now that you have added your users, it’s time to talk! Start typing, send them an emoji, send them a file--whatever you’d like.

And the best part, your chat history is retained from day one. You’ll never have to wonder if you shared that file or remembered to share a message--it’s all there to search or scroll through. We like to say it goes back to the beginning of time--at least the time you started using teams!

The Web Version

Teams is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android but it’s also available from your web browser, and here’s how you can get to it. Go to esutechsite.com/teams and click "Login". Enter your username in the form of username@emporia.edu. 

Yes, use @emporia.edu, even if you don’t have an @emporia.edu email address. In Microsoft Land, it’s just part of your account. And remember you can’t use your @g.emporia.edu address--that Google only. Once you’ve entered your username, enter your ESU password. 

And that’s it, the web-based version of Teams will load and you’re all set to begin chatting, calling, and collaborating!

As always if you have any questions regarding anything tech related

Microsoft Teams - Tips + Tricks

Microsoft Teams has been an increasingly popular instant messaging service provided by Microsoft in recent times. Everyone has probably had some experiencing using Microsoft Teams, and if you haven't, it's time to hop onto the train. We're going to cover some less commonly known features of Microsoft Teams today, and hopefully you'll be able to take advantage of some of these features!

'Do Not Disturb' Mode

Have you been in a meeting recently where someone's sound notifications for Teams are popping off? Have this happened to you? Teams has a common instant messaging feature where, when you receive a new message, it plays a small 'ding' sound to notify you of it. Although this is handy most of the time, there are times when you don't want to hear this notification sound. For example, when you are in a meeting or giving a presentation. That's where 'Do Not Disturb' mode comes into play. If you open the Teams application, and select your initials in the top right corner, there is an option to change your availability. If you have a meeting scheduled on your Outlook calendar during a specific time, Teams will automatically change your status to 'Busy', but that doesn't do anything about the notification sounds. You will need to navigate there manually and select 'Do not disturb'. This guarantees that any new messages will be silent until you turn your availability back to anything else. Below is a screenshot of how exactly to change your availability within the Teams application.

Availability Selection

Status Message

About to go on your lunch break? Need to step away from your computer for 15 minutes? Have a quick errand to run? Be sure to set your status message to reflect that! This allows your colleagues, and anyone on campus trying to message you on Teams, to know you are currently away from your keyboard. Teams also gives the option of setting timers for status messages, which is useful for everyone. For example, you can set your status to 'Taking lunch' for exactly one hour, and then it will automatically reset your status message. This can clear up any frustrations of delayed messages, and it's simply best practices to let everyone know the status of your availability. Below is a screenshot of what it looks like when messaging someone with a set status message.

Set Status Message

Sending Files + OneDrive

If you use Teams on the daily, it's quite common to send files back and forth through Teams. It's very handy and quick to send files. But, the issue of files being 'lost' can raise concerns. For example, if you sent a file months ago to someone and can't remember who you sent it to, what do you do? You'll probably search through all of your Teams' contacts and attempt to recover it. We can all agree that you should have stored it in OneDrive in the first place, right? Jokes aside, Teams does this for you! When you share files using the Microsoft Teams application, it automatically stores them into a OneDrive folder under your files. Below is a screenshot of what the folder looks like under 'My Files' in OneDrive.

And then, just like with any OneDrive folder, you can sort and filter through them to help you find your 'lost' files!

App Integrations

Teams allows you to integrate existing applications into your chats. This is not only much more fun than plain text, but it allows for more interactive conversations between you and your colleagues. You can check out which applications you can integrate into your Teams client by selecting 'Apps' in the bottom left of your client. A few examples that I'll give here would be Microsoft Forms, Planner, Weather, OneNote, and SharePoint. Be sure to check them out and see if any of the available application integrations can ease your daily workflow! Below is an example of a sample question I made with Microsoft Forms in one of my existing chats.

Microsoft Forms 'Poll'

I hope that some of you are able to utilize some of these Tips + Tricks into your daily workflow using Microsoft Teams. Be sure to poke around and Teams and explore the many possibilities of its uses.

Sam Derksen

Web Developer
Web and Digital Strategies