'Teams' Work Makes the Dreams Work

    Pockets of NISD staff have been using Microsoft Teams to streamline group conversations; did you know that groups of high school students were allowed the opportunity to test the platform for their unique programs which foster team communication and collaboration? Check out the below Teams experience through the student lens as authored by Sophie Price, student at Steele Early College High School, supported by the program educator, Amber Robinson.

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    Microsoft Teams has been very beneficial to many people at Steele Early College High School, but especially the members of the Steele Student Press - a self-branded name for publications made by Photography, Journalism, and Yearbook students at Steele. Abigail Beck, a photography editor for the Steele Student Press, explains that, “Microsoft Teams has been essential to Journalism’s ability to work as a cohesive team over the past few months.  It allows three different branches of our student press to coordinate planning and execution seamlessly together.” When asked to explain the specifics of her use of Teams, Beck said, “It allows me to put in requests for work I need to delegate, and get essential information and files from other people to allow me to do my job.” 

  Before we had Teams, Beck added, “our team would be reliant on email, which is so much more of a hassle when you are looking for time-sensitive communication.” Teams has many pros, and very few cons. Aubrey Dickinson, our Yearbook Editor in Chief, said, “Being able to contact other editors from the yearbook staff has made the process of producing our yearbook seamless. Having different channels of communication within Teams has kept our Student Press organized and allowed us to work efficiently. We have communicated and approved our social media posts through Teams, as well as planning push weeks to advertise for the sales of our yearbooks.” Like all modern wonders of technology, Teams does occasionally have its glitches, but other than that one would be hard pressed to find any glaring cons. 

Some of our favorite features on Teams include the ability to create different channels to organize conversations, private channels for groups like our editorial board, and the chat feature for collaborating one-on-one. The ability to call someone’s attention to a conversation by using the @mention feature (using the @ symbol, followed by their name) has also been invaluable. For those on the fence about getting Teams, Makenna Morgan, another photography editor for the Steele Student Press, offers these words of encouragement: “It will make your communication more streamlined, you will get more done, and it is a fantastic program for any workplace or organization to use.” If you’re going to use Teams, make sure to check it often, send chats to get used to the program, and use all available features! 

Teams has impacted the Steele Student Press in such a major, positive way.  As Aubrey Dickinson said, “I am incredibly grateful that we were presented the opportunity to use Teams this year and expand the horizons of our Steele Student Press beyond anything I could have ever imagined.”  

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For staff interested in using Microsoft Teams, access it from the Portal to get started. Reach out to your Instructional Technologist for additional support!