As you’ve seen via email, IT Governance endorsed the decision to transition to Microsoft Teams because it will provide a singl
e, consistent videoconferencing experience with improved accessibility features. It is also better financially (Teams is included with Microsoft 365) and we can provide better support for one solution.
In this article:
The transition to Teams is designed to be gradual, with plenty of support along the way. We know you and everybody with whom you interact need time to learn the new system. Each month we’ll have a general skills focus, gradually building up skills with teams as we go. We’ll also have a transition goal to track the shift of meetings from Webex to Teams before the cutoff in December.
Note: those needing to transition away from Zoom will receive additional communication as there is a longer transition timeline. However, we encourage you to learn Teams this semester to get a head start!
Here is the Webex to Teams timeline:
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August:
- Skills Focus: Build awareness and getting started support resources.
- Transition Goal: You can keep using the tools you’re using for all meeting needs without having to worry about testing or using Teams if you’re not ready. Support material is still being developed, but you can test Teams if you’d like.
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September:
- Skills Focus: Build skills with the basics of scheduling/joining meetings and Teams site basics.
- Transition Goal: Try at least some meetings in Teams, but you can continue to use the tools you’re more familiar with for courses or other higher-stakes meetings.
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October:
- Skills Focus: Build advanced meeting skills focusing on more complex curricular needs including breakout rooms, scheduling recurring meetings, and more complex integrations.
- Transition Goal: New meetings should be scheduled in Teams whenever possible, and existing meetings should start transitioning.
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November:
- Skills Focus: Building confidence with all areas of Teams functionality.
- Transition Goal: The majority of meetings should be held in Teams, seek support from IT with any meetings or use cases that are still not easily transitioned.
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December:
- Skills Focus: Rollins Teams up! Campus is comfortable using Teams.
- Final Transition Deadline: Webex goes away on December 15.
Ready to explore? Check out our Getting Started resources.
We have other support content in development, and live workshops will be announced starting in September. We'll send out updates as these become available - stay tuned!
Featured Question: What about using Teams with people outside of Rollins?
Several questions have come up about the ability to use Teams with people outside of Rollins. Yes! Teams can be used with people outside of Rollins, and we’ll show you how in the upcoming weeks. As just one example, meetings can be set up to allow people to join from a browser without an account.
Fortunately, we are not alone; many other colleges and universities use Teams as their primary videoconferencing platform. We know the experience will be different, but we’ll help you get familiar with it and will share information with you so you can help guests connect with you using Teams.
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