The chat window in MS Teams is a simple yet powerful tool for engaging students during synchronous online classes. It allows for whole-class communication, individual check-ins, and sharing of resources. Below are strategies and tips to help you make the most of chat in your teaching.

What’s Different about Teams

Compared to Zoom, Chat messages in Teams are saved automatically and remain accessible through the meeting event or chat tab, making it easier for students and instructors to revisit shared resources. Teams also allows instructors to pin important messages for visibility, enable transcripts that include chat and spoken content, and manage chat within a unified platform that connects to other MS Office apps. These features make Teams chat more integrated and persistent than Zoom’s, which typically requires manual saving and lacks pinning or transcript integration.

Formative Assessment Strategies

Use chat for low-stakes, inclusive engagement with lesson content and peer interaction:

• Opinions: Present a statement and ask students to agree or disagree. Have only those who agree share why, then repeat with those who disagree.
• Reflections: Invite students to share thoughts or feelings while listening to a podcast or watching a video.
• Formative Assessment: Use this-or-that or open-ended questions and ask students to justify their responses in chat.
• Exit Tickets: At the end of class, ask students to share one thing they learned, one word describing their confidence, or one lingering question.

Teams Tip: You can use poll apps for anonymous formative assessments, but they won’t be captured in a recording.

Engagement and Activities for Learning 

Chat is a great way to share instructions and resources.

• Ice Breakers: Ask students to share what they did over the weekend, what they ate for breakfast, or something they read related to the course.
• Give Instructions: Post steps or guidelines in the main room chat before students move to breakout rooms.
• View Digital Content: Share links to webpages or videos in the meeting chat so students can view them independently.
• Whiteboard or Other Collaborative Activities: Share links to collaborative documents so students can contribute together.
• Time Reminders: Send gentle reminders about time remaining during activities or breaks.
• Direct Messages: Use private chat to check in with individual students discreetly.
• Return Reminders: Use chat to notify students when it’s time to return from independent work or breaks.

Teams Tip: After asking a question, pause for at least 10 seconds to allow students time to respond in chat.

Tips for Using Chat in Your Online Class 

Consider these tips for setting up and using chat in class and for recordings. 

Before the Meeting

• Enable Meeting Transcripts: Before the meeting, go to Meeting Options and enable recording and transcription. This allows you to download a transcript afterward and review chat interactions alongside spoken content.
• Prepare Instructions and Links: Have key resources ready to paste into the meeting chat. Post essential instructions before students enter breakout rooms, as those chats are not visible in the main meeting chat.
• Second Window: Open MS Teams in a second desktop app window or browser tab to monitor both the meeting chat and private messages more easily. This helps you stay responsive without switching views.

During the Meeting

• Review Conduct: Set expectations for appropriate chat use. Note: private messages between students are not visible to instructors.
• Segment Responses: Let students know when you’ll pause to review chat messages, rather than monitoring continuously.
• Pin Important Messages: Hover over a chat message and click the ellipsis (…) > Pin to keep key instructions or links visible at the top of the chat window for all participants.
• Breakout Room Chat Limitations: Messages sent in breakout rooms are not visible in the main meeting chat. Share essential instructions and links before students enter breakout rooms to ensure everyone has access.
• Read Chat Aloud: Chat messages are not shown in meeting recordings. Read key responses aloud to include them for students watching later.

After the Meeting

• Review Chat (and Transcript) Later: Meeting chats are automatically saved in Teams. You can also download the transcript if enabled. This is useful for reviewing student responses or documenting participation.

AI Disclosure

This post was initially more general to apply to Teams and Zoom. I used Copilot to reorganize the post to focus on chat in MS Teams for online teaching. I refined the formatting, added MS Teams-specific instructions, and structured the “Settings and Setup” section into Before, During, and After the Meeting. I also added a short paragraph comparing MS Teams chat to Zoom to highlight its advantages.