Using Assignments and Activities in Microsoft Teams

Using Assignments and Activities in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams provides several options for distributing coursework, collecting student submissions, facilitating collaboration, and conducting assessments within a Class Team. Faculty can use Teams alongside Microsoft 365 applications to support written assignments, discussions, quizzes, demonstrations, and group work.

Assignment Options:

Written Assignments

Faculty can use Microsoft Teams and Outlook together to distribute assignment instructions and collect student submissions electronically.

Advantages

  • Existing assignment instructions can easily be converted into a digital format.

  • Microsoft Word documents can be distributed directly to students.

Considerations

  • Turnitin and Honorlock integrations must be used through Canvas.

Instructions

  1. Create or open your assignment instructions in Microsoft Word.

  2. Activate your course Team in Microsoft Teams.

  3. Copy the Teams meeting or Team link for student access if needed.

  4. Upload the assignment document to Teams or distribute it through Outlook email.

  5. If sending through Outlook, paste the Team email address or distribution list into the To: field.

  6. Ask students to submit their completed Word document as an email attachment or through Teams.


Discussion Board Questions

Teams channels can be used to facilitate class discussions similar to a discussion board in Canvas.

Advantages

  • Provides a simple way to facilitate class discussions within Teams.

  • Students can respond directly within the discussion thread.

Considerations

  • Asynchronous video discussion tools are more limited than dedicated discussion platforms.

Instructions

  1. Activate your course Team.

  2. Open the General channel or another course channel.

  3. Create a new post containing your discussion question or prompt.

  4. Ask students to reply directly to the discussion thread for participation and grading purposes.


Quizzes

Faculty can create quizzes using either Microsoft Forms or Qualtrics and distribute them through Microsoft Teams Assignments.

Available Platforms

  • Microsoft Forms

    • Supported Question Types:

      • Multiple Choice

      • Text

      • Rating

      • Date

      • Ranking

      • Likert

      • File Upload (up to 1 GB per file)

  • Qualtrics

    • Supported Question Types:

      • Multiple Choice

      • Text

      • Text and Graphic

      • Matrix

      • Calendar

      • Slider

      • Rank Order

      • File Upload (up to 16 MB)

Advantages

  • Both platforms support multiple question types.

  • Microsoft Forms can automatically capture the user’s Seton Hall email address.

  • Quizzes assigned through Teams can be distributed directly to enrolled students.

  • Assignments can include scheduled availability and due dates.

Considerations

  • Quiz randomization settings must be configured manually.

Instructions:

  1. Open the desired Class Team.

  2. Select Assignments.

  3. Select Create > New Quiz.

  4. Choose:

    • New Quiz to create a new assessment, or

    • Select an existing quiz.

  5. Configure assignment dates, availability, and grading settings.

  6. Assign the quiz to students.


Demonstrations and Video Assignments

Students can record demonstrations or presentations using Microsoft Teams recordings.

Instructions

  1. Students record a video presentation or demonstration using Teams.

  2. Once the recording is complete, Teams generates a shareable link.

  3. Students submit or share the recording link with the instructor for review and grading.


Group Work and Collaboration

Microsoft Teams channels can support group collaboration and project work.

Features Available to Student Groups

  • Private or dedicated channels for group discussions

  • Recorded group meetings within Teams

  • Shared Microsoft Word documents

  • Shared PowerPoint presentations

  • Shared Excel workbooks

  • Collaborative note-taking and file sharing

Students can work collaboratively within their assigned channel while faculty monitor participation and progress.