Blurred Backgrounds and More Microsoft Teams Updates

I'm not a daily user of Microsoft Teams so I rely on Mike Tholfsen's excellent YouTube channel to stay abreast of the latest features added to Microsoft Teams. It was through his recent video Top 5 New Features in Microsoft Teams that I learned about blurring backgrounds in Teams. I had assumed that the web version of Microsoft Teams already had that feature and I was bit surprised to find that it's just now been added to the web version of Teams. 

The other new features highlighted in the video include hiding your own video when speaking, hitting the spacebar to temporarily mute or unmute, changing the hand raise order, and using OneNote chiclets in Teams. Watch the video to learn how all of these features work and why they might be helpful to yo when teaching online. 

Ten Updated OneNote Features to Note

Mike Tholfsen is a product manager for Microsoft Education and the producer of some excellent Microsoft product tutorial videos for teachers. I frequently reference his videos in my weekly newsletter and when answering readers' questions about Microsoft products. 

This week Mike released a new video about the latest updates to OneNote. OneNote is the Microsoft tool that I use more than any other in my daily life so I was excited to see what's new. Of the ten things Mike features in the video there were two that I'm particularly happy to see. The first is an updated zoom tool (great for my aging eyes) and a new option for seamlessly transitioning between the web and desktop versions of OneNote. Watch Mike's video here or as embedded below to learn more about ten updated OneNote features for teachers and students. 

And if you missed it last fall, Mike's Top 20 Microsoft OneNote Tips and Tricks 2021 could be an eye-opener to the possibilities for using OneNote in school settings. In the video Mike also spends a good deal of time demonstrating the use of Immersive Reader in OneNote as well as Outlook integrations with OneNote.

See Video, Chat, and Notes at the Same Time in Microsoft Teams

Mike Tholfsen has released a new video that teachers using Microsoft Teams for online instruction should be excited  to see. In this new video Mike demonstrates how to use the new presenter view in Microsoft Teams Meetings. As you'll see in the video, the new presenter view is similar to the presenter view you're probably used to seeing in PowerPoint. The difference is that in Microsoft Teams Meetings presenter view you can see participants' chat messages while also viewing your notes, slides, or video. Watch Mike's video for a full overview of the new presenter view in Microsoft Teams Meetings. 

It should be noted that the new presenter view may not be available to all users right now. To access it you will need to have enabled the "Teams Public Preview" which Mike explains here.

Microsoft EDU - You've Got Questions, He's Got Answers

Many times over the last year I've mentioned Mike Tholfsen from Microsoft and his many Microsoft Teams tutorial videos. His YouTube channel is really the place to go for help with Microsoft Teams and OneNote questions. Next week he's hosting a live AMA (ask me anything) session on his YouTube channel. 

At 5pm ET on January 20th Mike Tholfsen is hosting an AMA session in which he'll answer all kinds of questions about Microsoft Teams, OneNote, Immersive Reader, and any other Microsoft EDU products you have questions about. So if you're a Microsoft EDU user, this is an event to add to your calendar.