Faculty and staff on all campuses can begin trying out a new version of Microsoft Teams that makes it easier to collaborate across the main WVU and Health Sciences environments starting Tuesday, Jan. 16.
To switch to New Teams, click Settings in the upper right corner of the Teams screen, then look for the New Teams toggle button. If you don’t like it, you can revert to Teams Classic. However, Microsoft will require everyone to use New Teams at some point after March 31.
Teams is a free and secure Microsoft 365 collaboration tool that provides a chat-centered workspace where groups and individuals can quickly communicate, meet and share files.
New Teams has improved notifications for people who need to work in both the main WVU instance and the Health Sciences instance of Teams. You can seamlessly toggle back and forth between the two environments by clicking a button in your Profile in the upper right corner.
Information Technology Services has identified several notable changes while testing New Teams on both Mac and Windows computers over the past few months.
Changes include the following:
Status indicators remain red even if a scheduled meeting ends early, aligning to the calendar item rather than automatically reverting to green.
Microsoft has eliminated the function that lets you choose from stock illustrations or upload your own background image when creating an Announcement.
Switching to New Teams may wipe out your audio settings. Mac users on newer devices will need to grant the application permission to use the microphone under Privacy settings.
After you make the switch, Mac users also will need to grant Teams permission to record your computer’s screen before sharing your screen for the first time.
Learn more about changing features.
If you’re new to using Teams for collaboration, check out these resources (WVU Login required).
Report any problems with the New Teams to the ITS Service Desk by calling 304-293-4444 or emailing ITSHelp@mail.wvu.edu.