Do you use Microsoft Teams?

If you do, then you're going to love the August update. It offers a number of new high value features that will improve the quality of your online meetings. Here's a quick overview:

Two New Presenter Options

In Presenter Mode you'll find two new options available: A Reporter mode and a Side-by-Side mode. In Reporter Mode any shared content will be placed above your shoulder (left or right) as a visual aid while you're speaking. In Side-by-Side mode your shared content will be in a separate column next to you.

Captioning and Transcription Changes

The two biggest changes here are live captions and live transcripts which provide captions and transcription in real time as your meeting is unfolding. In addition to that Microsoft has expanded the number of supported languages to twenty-seven, which is absolutely fantastic.

Calling Changes

The latest version of Teams now offers dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) support for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. In addition to these changes Admins can now delegate admin roles to specific members for the device management section in the Teams Admin Center.

 

Teams for Education gets some love

Where Teams for Education is concerned both educators and students can access and edit Team meetings for their courses directly from their Canvas course. It is a small change but a big-time saver and highly convenient. You'll also be able to view past and future meetings at a glance on your agenda and schedule and edit or join meetings from your LMS course.

Teams for Education also offers a new way to collaborate via Blackboard and the new Reading Progress feature allows readers to practice their skills in a safe student-centered environment.

 

My perspective

The bottom line is that there's something for just about everyone in the August update. You won't want to miss this one.

 Just like Shoeless Joe Jackson said in Field of Dreams: 

"If you build it, they will come"

 


By Denis Wilson

Cybersecurity Expert, Small Business Technology Consultant, Managed Services Provider, Managed IT Support

Thanks for reading this short post. For more tips on thriving with small business technology, check out the other blog posts at DWPIA Blogs. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

I am also a published author and speaker on cloud computing, work@home, and cybersecurity. I work extensively with business and professional associations to provide free small business technology education programs.

 

Contact me if you would like me to speak for free to your association