Now that the school year has begun, it’s important to have the right tools that can help you create a quality learning environment for students as well as educators. With these new Microsoft Teams features, you can better understand the well-being of educators, connect with parents and guardians to help manage student learning progress, and use various tools from the integration with our partner app, Kami.
Create Reflect check-ins in staff teams
Social and emotional learning is not only important for students, but for educators as well. Teachers that have higher levels of social emotional knowledge may have a better chance of creating effective learning strategies and keeping their students engaged. However, very little training is provided to support teacher’s social emotional learning growth.
Recently, we’ve updated Reflect in Microsoft Teams to appear as a featured tab in each of your classes, and now you can create Reflect check-ins for staff teams. By providing educators opportunities to check-in with themselves and take the temperature of your school ecosystem, school leaders can build a culture of trust and growth so voices can be heard.
How to create a staff check-in
To create a Reflect staff check-in you must be a team owner. Simply click on Reflect in the general channel of your staff team, select a question from the gallery based on CASEL core competencies, and create space for personal and community growth through reflection.
Explore the check-in questions using the categories, then select a question.
This new feature is available now, so take the time to learn how to create your first staff check-in or Class Notebook check-in today.
Parent Connection for Teams mobile is now available
We understand the importance of keeping parents/guardians involved with their child’s school progress. This not only helps motivate the student to do better in school, but also allows teachers and parents to understand areas of improvement and cater to the students’ best interests. To keep this line of parent-teacher communication open wherever you are, Parent Connection is now available in the Microsoft Teams mobile app. You can find the Parent Connection app within an individual class team along with the other apps enabled for your class (Assignments and grades, Class Notebook, and Insights).
You can use the Teams desktop or mobile app to send messages to parents/guardians for any status updates of their child.
Reach out to parents/guardians with Teams chat in mobile.
Learn more information about Parent Connection in Microsoft Teams so you can stay informed about your child’s school performance.
Introducing a new partner app in Teams: Kami
We’re excited to announce Kami’s new Microsoft Teams integration allowing teachers to gain access to more than 40 tools and features in addition to their existing learning resources and curriculum.
With this integration, you’ll be able to do these tasks in Teams:
- Create Kami assignments
- Create a shared Kami file inside of a team
- Provide rich feedback for your students
- Effortlessly grade and return assignments
- Sync your feedback or grading annotations in real-time
- Auto-save files with your OneDrive
Annotate, collaborate, and asses with Kami—the-all-in-one learning platform. Learn how to use Kami with Microsoft Teams today.
Watch the video to learn how to create and work with Kami assignments in Microsoft Teams.
Who can use Kami’s Microsoft Teams integration?
This feature is available to users with a Kami Teacher, School, or District Plan. Schools or districts using Microsoft Teams can request a free domain-wide Kami trial to see if these tools fit your school environment.
Want to know what Teams can do for your classroom?
To get an interactive demo of how Teams can work in your classroom or to watch videos to help you and your students get started using Teams, visit the Educator Center to find Microsoft Teams product guides. This digital learning hub provides educators with a wide selection of learning paths and training modules to help you grow and better manage your classrooms.
