Having multiple devices in one family is expensive. Many families are working off one device to access Teams and online learning, and potentially work access for parents/carers too. Not only does this have time management implications, but also practical and security issues. Teams and Glow are secure systems that allow access through a login and password. When this is shared between multiple users it increases the risk of accessing another user’s login accidentally or on purpose. Neither is desirable. But there is a way to reduce this risk.

I would suggest creating an individual login on your PC/laptop for each of the children in your family.

You can do this by:

• clicking on the start option, bottom left of Windows desktop and choosing “settings” (cog wheel) then accounts.
• Click on “Family and Other users” on left hand side
• Select “Add a Family Member” on the screen that comes up.
• Click on the add member circle and choose..
• Create an email address for a child and follow the steps through from there.

This will provide an account for each of your children/young people to log in to when they access your machine. This is always a really sensible thing to do as it means not only have you got control over content, installation of apps etc, but also keeps them away from your documents, files and passwords that may be saved on your login.

By doing this you can then sign them in to their own account and then set up Teams, Glow and anything else for them, without having to change your settings for these things. They can also set up the One Drive App in this account with their Glow account to allow easy transfer and storage of files on the cloud. This means that their account shouldn’t take up any extra space on your drive.

It also starts the process of good security habits. A password could even be added to each account for added security, reducing the potential for a sibling mischievously accessing an email/Teams account of their brother or sister. it has been known to happen 😉