Teams in 2022

Since our last Teams article, there have been even more improvements and updates to enhance our experience of using Teams. In this update, we want to remind you about recordings and let you know about a few new things we think are going to be quite exciting! 

Teams recordings 

We’ve previously told you about this year’s changes to Teams recordings – we hope you’ve found the new arrangements to be a smooth transition.  Here are a couple of useful things to bear in mind: 

• Recordings storage: The important thing to remember, particularly if you record lots of meetings, is that the video files automatically save to your OneDrive and are not automatically deleted. Video files can be large and take up valuable space – if you notice your OneDrive is getting full, you’ll need to manage this. 
• Leaving your job: Only the person who made the recording has the ability to download and when you leave no one else can access your OneDrive.  Consider transferring ownership by saving your important recordings in a shared location.    

Coming in 2022  

It’s rarely easy to keep track of all the changes and updates to software, but Microsoft’s Teams roadmap gives us a good idea of what’s planned or underway.

Microsoft has big, innovative plans for the coming year! We recently heard about Fluid Live which is part of a new Microsoft collaboration system called Loop. This is exciting stuff and there’s far too much going on for us to describe here, but we recommend taking a look at this Loop video to find out more. 

Other things that we heard are there already or coming in 2022 include: 

• Hands up order – easily see who put their hand up first in a meeting (click on 'meeting participants' to see this in action)
• Ability to book rooms from a tablet set up outside a meeting room door  
• Chat with Self - a handy option for writing drafts and reminders 
• Chat Density option - control how many chat messages you see in a thread and shrink or grow to suit different screen sizes 
• Even more reactions and emojis 
• Schedule a Teams message to be sent later (for example, if a user is in a different time zone and doesn't want you pestering them at 3am) 
• Functionality for moderating Q&A in a regular Teams chat 
• Share a channel in different Teams
• Mesh for Microsoft Teams – find out about Mesh an innovative way to address the ‘hallway moments’ and ‘kitchen catch-ups’ that people are missing   

It’s pretty safe to say that change is coming – find out more about what’s planned for Microsoft Office.   

Nexus365 User Group (NUG) facelift

With nearly 600 members, the Nexus365 User Group (NUG) is a thriving online community where you can ask questions or see the latest Teams news. Recently, the NUG has had a facelift and now has two new channels which replace the previous generic 'service messages' channel:

• The new Service health channel is where you can find out the status of any Nexus365 services and any ongoing outages or issues.   
• The New and upcoming channel has the latest news about service enhancements and features. 

Take a look! You'll also find tips, tricks, quick start guides and more. Any member of Oxford University can join - the joining code is LNJVOFR.  

Teams training, help and advice   

Still confused or not using useful features you know are there somewhere? Answers to popular Teams questions can be found on our Teams pages.   

Our instructor-led or LinkedIn Learning courses are also a great way to enhance your skills. Just search for 'Teams' in the course listing on our IT Skills website.   

If you have a question about good practice for teaching with Teams, please contact the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) or check the CTL website which has lots of useful information.    

Did you know?  

When presenting, if you use the ‘PowerPoint live’ feature you can see your presenter notes as well as the participant video, chat and raised hands.