Most classes use some sort of visuals to help the participants follow along. Traditionally blackboards were the visual of choice, then whiteboards and PowerPoint.

Teams allows for online teaching and Hybrid teaching giving teachers even more content sharing options in the classroom. From screen sharing to collaborative whiteboards and PowerPoint Live, Teams has you covered for options.

Screen Sharing

The most common type of content sharing in Teams is a simple screen share. There are options to share the whole screen, or a single window. I personally try to avoid sharing specific windows, as I inevitability forget and switch to another window, confusing my audience. Remember that if you’re sharing your screen to show a video, make sure to enable the computer audio toggle.

Screen sharing can be done from any device connected to the meeting, even an iPad or other tablet. This enables you to run a meeting from one computer, while using an annotation app of choice to mark up lecture notes at the same time on your tablet.

Presenter modes allow your participants to see your video within your content window. Standout mode allows you to be in the bottom right of your content, or side-by-side mode where you are in a pane beside it, or have your content in a pane over your right shoulder with reporter mode.

Whiteboard and Camera

Similar to screen sharing you can also use a digital or even physical whiteboard. Microsoft Whiteboard enables a digital collaborative whiteboard with an infinite canvas for ideas and planning. There is an extensive template library for everything from brainstorming, to learning, and even games. The Content from camera option lets the device’s camera display a physical document, whiteboard, or video feed. However if you’re looking to present in PowerPoint, there’s a better way than simply sharing your screen.

PowerPoint Live

As a Microsoft platform, Teams excels at sharing PowerPoint slides. Rather than simply sharing a screen, Teams hosts the Powerpoint sides in a feature called PowerPoint Live. This allows for a better view of the slides and notes for the presenter, while enabling additional engagement features for the participants and attendees.

PowerPoint Live opens the presentation directly from a quick menu showing recent presentation in OneDrive as well as an ability to upload from your computer. By default you get access to show your presentation, see your presenter notes, view the entire slide deck, and a variety of annotation tools. All of this is added to your view of the participants and the chat, within a single window on your computer.

For the participants they now have access to your slides that allows them to translate the text, change accessibility features like magnification and contrast, and even move through your slide deck on their own. Of course if you’re running a quiz in your slides the private view () can lock the participants to the slide you’re on. You can even show up live inside your slides with presenter modes like cameo feature or stand out. The presentation is also automatically attached to the meeting for easy sharing after the meeting is over.

Excel Live

Similar to sharing live PowerPoint slides in a collaborative manner, there is also an Excel Live option. This gives the presenter control over the shared Excel document, helping to direct the participants to key fields. Of course there are also tools to enable collaboration and live edit and view options for all participants. And after the presentation all participants retain their access to continue work and collaboration.

File Sharing

Files shared through PowerPoint Live, the Chat, or the Files tab, is automatically saved to the Files tab in the Teams meeting which allows for collaboration after the meeting is over. Additionally you can share the file ahead of the meeting. Links to Office365 documents added in the chat will show a permissions dialog once loaded. Be careful to check the permission level so all participants have the access they require. Note the default is view only. Shared files grant full permissions for all currently active meeting participants and can be edited collaboratively using either the Teams interface or desktop application.

Of course the best way to learn about the many content sharing options in Teams is to try them for yourself. Load up a meeting, test it out, and if you have it join the meeting on another device to see what you look like. Play and learn, and check back often; Microsoft is constantly adding new and interesting features.