Christy Jacobs

ITEC 7445
Dr. Moore
November 6, 2017
Emerging Technology
 What is Microsoft Teams?
Microsoft Teams is a productivity
suite that is based on improving
collaboration for the following four
promises:
Communication
The Office Suite: Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote,
Planner, Power BI, Delve
Customization
Security
Microsoft Teams takes the best
aspects of Office 365 and combines
them in order to effectively share
files, sites, and content with
classroom students and teachers.
(Office Videos, 2016)
 The Ben Hill County School System is committed to using technology in any effective
manner to enhance the quality of teaching and engage students in activities which
positively impact the learning process. We visualize an educational environment which
offers the latest emerging technologies and the opportunity for teachers and students
to gain knowledge utilizing the resources available in a digital environment. Our goals
are to challenge students to perform their best and develop the skills needed to adapt
to an ever changing society. We strive to offer students the tools necessary to excel in
all areas of academics. (Ben Hill County Schools Technology Plan, 2016)
Microsoft Teams aligns with the technology vision as is provides the digital
environment to challenge students using the latest technology tools and allow students
to excel in all areas of academics (as it can be applied in each classroom setting).
 Ben Hill County Schools has determined the following four technology goals to align
with the vision for technology use and access in all Ben Hill County Schools. Through
implementing and using Microsoft Teams the following goals are achievable and easily
attainable.
Provide technology for instructional use incorporating the National Educational Technology
Standards (NETS) & the States Digital Learning Task Force.
Teams offers blended and competency-based learning environments where students can engaged
utilizing mobile and cellular devices for individualized learning.
Teams allows for online collaboration in real time.
Teams create a digital learning environment where students have the ability to learn any time, any
place, and at their own pace, utilizing real-time data.
Provide support for administrative use of technology to support the NETS-A.
Teams allows for increased administrative use of information and communication technology and
digital learning.
Teams allows for the administration team and district office administrators participate in real time
collaboration while staying on their school site.
Teams allows for administrators to demonstrate daily activities using 21st century technology skills
 Provide parents, the community, and other stakeholders with technology resources and
support.
Teams allows increased awareness and use of technology regarding student achievement in each
content classroom.
Teams allows parents to utilize technology as a means to discuss their students performance and create
an interactive partnership between the parents, teacher, and administration.
Provide training and system support for technology.
Teams provides the district with opportunities for our students and staff to remain up-to-date on
technology and the ways it can be used.
Teams allows for the improved availability and performance for all students and teachers allowing the
use of mobile and cellular devices in the classroom for content, collaboration, and communication
purposes.
 Increase online student collaboration and project based learning
through mobilizing Microsoft Teams in the classroom.
Allow for online portfolios that can grow with students as they progress
at Fitzgerald High School.
Allow for streamline communication and collaboration as students and
teachers will be effectively using technology as an instructional tool.
 Microsoft Teams streamlines all student work through its cloud based
applications that can be shared with all or individuals who are a part of
the created team. This streamline allows for space to be cleared on the
schools network and allows students to access their documents
anywhere they have internet.
Students can download the Microsoft Teams App on their phone and
have access to all coursework, projects, collaboration, communication,
etc. when they are off campus, sick, or at a school related event. Through
cell phone access, we are putting the application in the hands of each
student in our schools population at once.
Creating online student growth portfolios that can follow students till
graduation.
 Fitzgerald High School a Title One school and part of Ben Hill County
Schools, which is a Title One district, has approximately 850 students
enrolled. Every student in the district receives free lunch. The high school
would be the target population in the district to begin using Microsoft Teams.
By starting with our high school students, we are teaching them the value of
online collaboration and communication which is continuously growing in
our 21st century world.
Of the student population, a survey was conducted to determine how many
students have a working phone that can handle the collaboration,
communication, and project based learning that is the central theme behind
Microsoft Teams. Approximately 645 of our 850 students have a cellular
device that can run the application for Microsoft Teams. Of the remaining
students, we have laptop devices or computer labs that can supplement
needed devices and allow for all students at Fitzgerald High School an
appropriate device for working through Teams.
 The technology is web based and a part of Microsoft Office 365.
Therefore, in order to effectively run the application, wireless access is
required for cellular and mobile devices within the school.
As a Microsoft Office 365 county, each student would have an e-mail
account to access Teams.
The Microsoft Teams app would need to be downloaded on cellular
devices for use.
Student headphones maybe required if students are sharing and
collaborating on videos, tutorials, etc.
 The Ben Hill County School district outsources our technology
department through VARtek. As a part of their services, they have a
classroom technology coach who is charged with helping teachers,
instructional coaches, and administration implement technology
effectively in the classroom. VARtek would be a source of technical
support on site to assist with any issues that may arise with Microsoft
Office 365 and Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft also provides an online help center to provide assistance,
technical support, and featured trainings for Teams.
 When using Teams on any device, Wi-Fi is required. Therefore, students
who do not have internet access at home would not be able to use their
Teams application.
New students would not have access to a Teams account until they had a
Microsoft Office 365 account created.
Safety limitations are set so that all student content is only sharable to
students and teachers within the system. No one outside of the system
will be able to view or access any student created work.
 Ben Hill Countys School System is a Microsoft Office 365 district. There
is no cost to begin implementing Teams in classrooms, within
departments, etc.
With an outsourced technology company on hand for the Ben Hill
County School District and a district instructional technology
coordinator, training can occur on site and during professional learning
with no additional cost to the school.
 Ben Hill County Schools has an A1 license with Microsoft Office 365.
This license is free for all students and faculty and staff with an unlimited
number of users.
If any changes were made to the our license or if we decided to upgrade
and allow more feathers, Title One could be used as a potential funding
source since Teams and Microsoft Office 365 is applicable to each
student in the district and the district itself is Title One.
 Each student in the school has a student e-mail account. Some
students are only using Office 365 for this purpose while other
students are not using it at all. In order to take advantage of this
technology, we must use Teams in the following ways:
Implement Teams in each classroom.
Use Teams as a means to initiate collaboration between students and peers
through:
Microsoft Office Online
PowerPoint Presentations Online
Sharing files Online
Blogging Online
Use Teams to initiate conservation and communication on GA performance
standards and content curriculum.
Create online student portfolios through Teams to follow student growth.
 Microsoft Teams allows for individual student learning portfolios. This directly aligns
with Ben Hill County Schools new learning and growth vision for each student. The
growth made throughout the school year can be followed by parents and students alike
along with how they are specifically meeting the standards and their learning goals.
Microsoft Teams promotes learning goals through every high school content area as it
can be applied for communication and collaboration.
Microsoft Teams supports the importance of technology skills that require the student
to learn and work in a digital format which is importance for future careers in our 21st
century world of technology.
 Teams can be used to differentiate instruction by:
Grouping students to collaborate on different projects with varying
levels of requirements.
Communication to peers can be varied through use of written, verbal,
and pictorial symbols.
Students can receive instruction through different mediums and create
responses to instruction and standards through different mediums
(video, blog, presentation, podcast, etc.)
 Microsoft Teams bring together the full breadth and depth of Office
365, to provide a true chat-based hub for teamwork and give customers
the opportunity to create a more open, fluid, and digital
environment.(Overview of Microsoft Teams, 2017)
Communication and collaboration are the two main components of
Microsoft Teams. By connecting, collaborating, and communicating,
students are provided opportunities to grow in their communication
skills one on one or through the chat and e-mail features of Teams.
 Rob Dickson, Executive Director of Information Management Systems,
Omaha Public Schools
With technology in the classroom, we focus on the 4Cs- communication, collaboration,
critical thinking, and creativity. Microsoft Teams really does all of them.(Microsoft
Education Team, 2017)
Our students interact and socialize with a larger circle of influence than what weve
ever had as a society. And when you look at how we prepare students for that types of
environment, digital citizenship and literacy really come to the forefront. With
technology in the classroom, we focus on the 4Cs- communication, collaboration,
critical thinking, and creativity. (Microsoft Education Team, 2017)
 The classroom experience in Teams will help teachers manage their daily
workflow more easily than ever before. Using Teams, they can quickly and
efficiently create classes with automatically populated student rosters from
their school information system; share files and teaching materials ; make
announcements; divide the class into project groups and monitor progress;
create, distribute and grade quizzes; deliver personalized learning with
OneNote Class Notebooks; and distribute, collect and grade assignments.
And because Teams is a digital hub, students can work together anytime,
anywhere, and on any device; teachers can connect with their peers and
continue their own develop in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs);
and school administrators can communicate and collaborate with their
entire staff. (Willis, 2017)
 Teachers will first need professional learning on Microsoft Teams before they can
begin implementing it in their classrooms.
To best help teachers becoming effective in their use of Teams, a team will be created for
each department at Fitzgerald High School (Math, Science, ELA, Social Studies, CTAE, and Fine
Arts). Teachers will be trained through their department team account in order to see both
sides of the technology they will be implementing.
Handouts with screenshots have been created for each teacher to have as a step by step
guide. They are available to coincide this presentation and professional learning for
implementation.
Two teachers from each department will begin implementing Teams with their
students after a months use of using it through their department.
Our classroom technology coach, district technology coordinator, or the schools media
specialist can assist the teacher with create her classroom Teams and with initial
implementation with getting all students signed in and through the orientation process of how
to navigate the platform.
 This technology is endorsed by AIG.
 Microsoft Teams was not pushed out as an application for Ben Hill County School users
until the new school year for 2017-2018. Once the application was available, it was not
mentioned by the schools technology department or pushed through professional
learning for teachers. I noticed the different application and began to pursue it for
myself and a means to make creating groups for teachers easier. Once inside the
application I learned how Teams combined the before separated features of Groups,
Class Notebook, Delve, SharePoint, etc. Upon realizing the difference it could make for
teachers and increase student engagement through online collaboration and
communication, I created a screenshot presented for teachers if they wanted to begin
using it for their personal classrooms.
Microsoft Teams has the possibility to streamline online collaboration and
communication means for students, parents, and teachers if the Ben Hill County School
System or Fitzgerald High School would stress the importance of integrating this new
engaged technology aspect of Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Teams will not only enable our students to be more prepared to enter the 21st
century world of technology once they graduate from Fitzgerald High School, but it will
also stress the importance of integrating technology standards along with content
standards .
Ben Hill County Schools Technology Plan [OneNote]. (2016, July). Fitzgerald: Terri Smith.
Microsoft Education Teams (2017, September 27). Immersive classroom experience in
Microsoft Teams rolling out to Office 365 for Education customers worldwide.
Retrieved November 04, 2017, from
https://educationblog.microsoft.com/2017/06/collaborative-classroom-features-
now-available-microsoft-teams/
Office Videos. (2016, November 02). Retrieved November 03, 2017, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=nKU-FMzZFF0
Overview of Microsoft Teams. (n.d.). Retrieved November 05, 2017, from
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-overview
Willis, R. (n.d.). Microsoft Classroom to be replaced by Microsoft Teams in Office 365 for
Education. Retrieved November 04, 2017, from
https://blog.salamandershoft.co.uk/index.php/2017/05/microsoft-classroom-to-
be-replaced-by-microsoft-teams-in-office-365-for-education/