February 10, 2020

Microsoft Teams training is available

The Office of Information Technology is now offering training for Microsoft Teams, which provides shared online workspace that allows team members to collaborate in real-time regardless of distance.

Team members can also chat, make calls, conduct meetings, share files, and work with an array of apps. Teams is also an excellent location for secure file storage; because Team members save their content to a secure server in the cloud, files can be accessed anywhere without traditional VPN network access.

As OIT begins to allocate access to Microsoft Teams across campus, faculty, staff and students are encouraged to investigate and participate in training. Course descriptions are available online. You can see course times and register by clicking the “Register” button on any of the course description pages.

OIT will eventually move toward Teams to provide the entire campus with a unified communications system. Much like Skype (which has been assimilated by Microsoft Teams), you will be able to call locally or around the world — at little or no cost.

Although you can attend training sessions in any order, OIT recommends that you start with the “WOW /Owner” session if you are just contemplating a Teams presence. If you are ready to develop a Teams space, the “Channels & Tabs” session covers the most basic elements of this online system.

The initial sessions and locations are:

  • Channels & Tabs: Thursday, Feb. 13, 10 – 11 a.m., Northwest Annex, Lab 117A.
  • WOW/Owner: Feb. 25, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m., Morris Library, Room 752/754.

Registration is required to participate in any or all sessions. For convenience, training will continue throughout the year.

For more information or questions, contact OIT’s client relations and communications team at crc@siu.edu or Lisa Threlkeld at 453-2699.