Microsoft 365 – MDLT Blog

New Teams Default in Glow

From 26^th February 2024, RM Unify are enabling New Teams as the default within Glow. This will allow users to continue to familiarise themselves with the New Teams interface in advance of the retiral of Classic Teams at the end of March 2024.

Users will still have the option to revert back to Classic Teams between 26^th February 2024 and end of March 2024; however as Classic Teams will no longer be available after March 2024 we would encourage all Glow users to explore New Teams as it will be what all users will be utilising moving forward.

Click here for more details on New Teams read our previous Teams post. Or to see the differences in functionality between Classic Teams and New Team click – here

New Teams rolling out in Glow from 7th Dec 2023

The new Teams experience will be rolling out in Glow from 7th December 2023 for all staff and learners to try before it becomes the default experience when Microsoft retire the current ‘classic Teams’ in mid May 2024. The changes will be rolling out on the desktop app and for the web client (Edge and Chrome). Users should start to see the option to switch to new Teams within a few days as a significant update rollout take time across the whole of Glow.

New Teams has many additional benefits including –

The ability to easily switch between Microsoft accounts (e.g. a local authority M365 account and a Glow account) allowing more seamless collaboration and less disruption. This is referred to by Microsoft as Multi Tenant Multi Account (MTMA)
Less resource intensive
Updates such as new channels and chat experience, ability to see raised hands and participants while presenting in a Teams meeting and a new look based on system settings e.g. dark mode or other high contrast settings

Switch to new Teams using the toggle in the top left area of the Teams App.

You can switch back to ‘classic Team’ up until mid May 2024 by visiting the three-dots menu in the top right corner of your Teams window, then toggle the New Teams switch to off. New Teams application will close the Teams classic will open.

For more information and to view a video run-through of all the new Teams functionality visit the Glow Connect help page – HERE

Changes to OneDrive storage in Glow

Microsoft recently announced changes in storage allocation on their A1 Education license, which is the license all users have through their Glow account. As of February 1st, 2024, users will be restricted to a maximum of 100Gb storage within their individual OneDrive. This is a reduction from the 1TB currently available in Glow. The vast majority of Moray users will be unaffected by this change as they are not using anywhere near 100Gb of storage.

Education Scotland have provided the Moray Digital Learning Team with a list of accounts whose OneDrive storage exceed these new limits, as well as users that are close to this limit (i.e. those with storage space of 90Gb and over). We will be contacting these account holders individually.

All Glow users are encouraged to undertake regular housekeeping of their cloud storage to ensure they remain with the limits. These housekeeping tasks can range from, but are not limited to

Deleting unwanted / unused files
Delete unwanted / unused versions
Empty Recycle bin
If the material is still required, consider storing in an alternative location like G Drive
To learn how to review and delete large files in OneDrive, go to this site.

Tips For End Users

How to view your storage usage – Sign into OneDrive on the web. Review storage usage on the bottom left corner.
Clean up your files – Click the storage amount used and view the largest files in your OneDrive you may want to delete to free up space. After deleting the files, empty the recycle bin.

Following the licensing change in February 2024 users will receive warning notifications when approaching the storage limit. At 100% capacity, the user’s OneDrive will be limited to read-only access. Users won’t be able to upload, edit or sync new files to OneDrive but existing files will remain read-only

MIE Expert Self-nominations open!

The MIE Expert programme is operated by Microsoft and connects educators from all over the world. It would be fantastic to have as many of Moray’s amazing educators featured on the 2023/24 official list as possible. There is a vibrant and collaborative MIEE community in Scotland which shares ideas, best practice and offer support to colleagues. Microsoft are looking for self-driven educators who are passionate about teaching and learning, who inspire students with creative thinking, and work in a truly collaborative spirit to share their learning with the world.

Full details of application process can be found – HE RE.

Self-nominations for the 2023/2024 cohort will open on 9th May of 2023 and close 26th June, 2023

Nominate yourself at any time, however, Microsoft will only formally announce those in the program the week of 17th July 2023 in a blog post and by posting the official list (this is 2021/22 list).

Please email the learntech@moray.gov.uk, if you require any support or if you have completed the self-nomination process so we can update our records.

Good luck!

New – Search Coach from Microsoft

Microsoft Education announced a suite of new tools at their ‘Reimagine Education’ event on Thursday. To see the full announcement visit the recording page HERE. The new tools include a new category called ‘learning accelerators’ – in addition to Reading Progress and Coach which is already available. There will be Math, Search and Speaker Progress and Coach.

Most of these tools will not be available until later in the year. However one very useful tool is now available to be added to all class teams. It is called ‘Search Coach’ and it is essentially a search engine designed to teach learners the important skills of information literacy in a safe way.

It is the perfect place to show learners how to research effectively by giving hints about their search queries, allowing them to filter by domain, date and file type. As an educator you can also customise the results learners receive.

Installing Search Coach (instructions from Microsoft.com)

Any class team owner in Microsoft Teams for Education can install Search Coach today!

From the general channel of any class, select +.
Search for and select Search Coach.
Select Add then select Save.
Search Coach will appear as a tab app in your class. Repeat these steps for any additional classes you want students to have Search Coach in.

thumbnail image 1 captioned Select "+" to open the Teams App Catalog

More information about search coach can be found HERE. There is also a Microsoft Learn Course available HERE.

Microsoft Apps on Android Devices

We have had a few users reporting issues accessing Microsoft apps on their Android devices. This is an issue which does not just effect Glow users, so RM Unify have escalated the issue to Microsoft.

The current advice for users who are unable to access application like Teams or Outlook via their Android tablets or mobiles is to fully log out of the app and the account on your device, you may need to do this in the device settings rather than the app settings. After logging out fully delete the application and then reinstall it, before logging back in with your full Glow email address as your Microsoft account username.

If you can access the app sign out and close down the app on your device
If you are unable to access the menu to sign out inside the app you may may need to do this in your device settings, but make sure you have closed the app down.
In the device settings locate the App settings
Scroll through the list of apps on the device to find the correct one and click to open the details.
Click on the Storage option
Click to clear the data and cache
Uninstall the app from your device and reinstall the latest version of the app from the Play store
When logging in use you Glow Microsoft account username (full Glow email address)

If you have any issues logging out of the application fully please consult your devices manufacturer’s guide on how to do this on your device model.

Coming soon – Microsoft Stream

Stream, which is a video hosting application, will be rolling out to Glow users during February. This is a phased rollout as it involves relicensing users, so will take approximately 3 weeks to complete. Stream will be replacing Office 365 Video, which will be retired on 1st March.

O365 Video content will automatically be migrated to Stream through a Microsoft process. It will not be visible within Stream until the migration is finalised. This would be a good time to do some housekeeping of old video content which may not longer be relevant or required; however O365 Video can continue to be used until the end of February.

While the rollout is completing, Stream will be ‘read only’. Users will not be able to upload content. Prior to the ‘go live’ date further guidance will be issued so please look out for this in our normal communication channels. Once fully enabled only staff members will be able to create content in Stream; however learners will have access to view content.

Any links to or embedded video stored in O365 Video redirect to Stream for a 1 year period. Staff should plan to review and update any links referring to O365 Video during this period or videos will become unavailable.

For more details on Stream and how it can be used click – here

Glow Teams Functionality Update

Insights

Insights is an app available within Teams which allows educators to see how and when students are engaging with you, course materials, and their peers, as well as how they are performing on assignments. After feedback from educators the a Class Overview is now available within the Insights app in Glow Teams. This new functionality allows teachers to add a personal app to their left app bar menu that provides an overview of all their Class Teams all in one place. The insights app must be added to each Class Team via the top navigation for them to appear in the overview.

You can find a full guide on Insights for educators – HERE

Only Me Lobby Functionality in Teams

The ‘Only Me’ lobby will be the default option for creating Teams meetings using Glow from Thursday 26th November. For any meeting arranged with colleagues where you may wish attendees to be able to join the meeting prior to the organiser you may need to update the meeting options. For any meetings with learners please ensure that the default is unchanged to ensure learners do not enter the meeting prior to their teacher. More advice can be found on the Glow Connect website – HERE.

Public Teams

Please be aware that some other local authorities or Glow users may have made the decision to leave a number of their Teams public so anyone can join at will. If learners are joining these Teams they should be reminded that any posts will have their Glow username logged and are easily traceable.

By default Class Teams are created as private Teams; however other templates used to create Team may have public as the default. The creator of the Team should ensure the setting applied is what they intended.

Answers to the top 10 questions Learning Technologists get asked everyday about Glow

TEAMS

Teams is telling me to download the app, do I have to?

No, you can use Teams in your internet browser, Chrome works best. Teams will suggest you download the app, which is free and does have some additional features for video conferencing; however it is not available on school computers and is not required. When working/learning at home you can chose to use the app on your own device if you have permissions to do so.

I can’t chat 1 to 1 with my teacher/learner in Teams, it says this feature is disabled by the administrator can you switch it on?

The chat function in Teams for learners is disabled nationally within Glow and can’t be switched on locally. Discussions are taking place with Education Scotland, Glow Key Contacts and RM Unify who operate Glow. Any changes will be communicated. Questions you do not wish to post inside the Team should be sent via your Glow email.

I can’t see my pupils when I am doing a video conference meeting in Teams, can you switch it on?

The video is disabled for learners nationally within Glow and can’t be switched on locally. Discussions are taking place around two way video conferences with learners and any changes will be communicated.

GOOGLE CLASSROOM

I have tried to email a learner/teacher in Google Classroom and its says it disabled by the administrator, can you switch it on so it will work?

Gmail is disabled for all Glow users nationally, so any emails regarding learning should be sent via your Glow Outlook email address. Any notifications from G Suite products will be forwarded automatically to your Outlook email account.

I can’t see my pupils when I am doing a video conference meeting in Google Classroom via Google Meet. It says it’s disabled by the administrator, can you switch it on?

Can I use Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint with Google Classroom?

Yes, but these documents will have to be added as attachments. The default programmes used to create new documents within Google Classroom are part of the G Suite such as Doc, Sheets and Slides.

GENERAL

I am being asked to enter my Microsoft account details when I try to get into my email or other Office 365 applications, what do I enter?

When you see the Microsoft sign in pop up box you need to enter your full Glow email address. Your Glow email is your user name followed by @glow.sch.uk for school users or @glowmail.org.uk for non school users.

When I am trying to use Glow sometime I get an error saying my browser does not support the action, what do I do?

When using Glow it is best to use Chrome as your internet browser. Some applications accessed within Glow are not comparable with other browsers such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. It is also worth ensuring that your browsers is update with the latest version of the software.

I have forgotten my password, how to I get it reset?

Contact the school in the first instance and they will be able to reset your password.

Can I use [insert product name] now that we are teaching/learning remotely?

The same data protection procedure is in place even when working remotely and only approved software, apps and websites should be used. If you wish to use a new product a DPIA form will be required to review the product prior to use.

Signing In to Microsoft account in Glow

Some users when trying to open Office 365 from their Glow launch pads are being asked to Sign In to Microsoft in order to access Office apps.

If you see the message shown in the picture, simply type in your Glow email address and click ‘Next’ to progress to the Office 365 home page. Your Glow email is your user name followed by @glow.sch.uk for school users or @glowmail.org.uk for non school users. Examples for both email formats are below –

gw20bloggsjoe@glow.sch.uk

gw20bloggsjoe@glowmail.org.uk

You may be asked to repeat this action if you log onto a different computer or have cleared your browser’s cache.

If you have any issues logging in to Office 365 via Glow please email learntech@moray.gov.uk