Microsoft Teams is KAUST’s collaboration and communication workspace for chat, meetings, teamwork, and file collaboration. It brings conversations, meetings, shared files, and teamwork into one place.
Teams works best when people need to communicate and collaborate in real time, whether that is through chat, channel discussions, online meetings, or working together on shared files.
A simple way to think about it:
OneDrive = my files
SharePoint = our files and shared content
Teams = our conversations, meetings, and collaboration
Use Teams when you need to collaborate with others in real time.
These tools work together, but they serve different purposes.
| Tool | Purpose | Simple Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| OneDrive | Personal file storage and drafts | My files |
| SharePoint | Shared team files and long-term collaborative content | Our files |
| Teams | Communication, meetings, and collaboration | Our conversations |
Important: Files shared in a Teams channel are stored in SharePoint, not inside Teams itself.
Go to https://teams.microsoft.com and sign in with your KAUST account.
The desktop application usually provides the best experience for meetings, notifications, screen sharing, and multi-window use.
Teams is available on iOS and Android and supports chat, meetings, file sharing, and notifications.
Download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
A Team represents a group of people working together, such as a department, project group, or operational team.
Channels organize work inside a Team. Each channel has its own conversation area and its own files.
Posts are threaded conversations inside a channel. Use them when the discussion is relevant to the wider team.
Chat is best for direct conversations with individuals or smaller groups when the discussion does not need to live in a team channel.
To request a new Microsoft Team at KAUST, submit a request to the IT Service Desk through the IT Contact Us page.
https://it.kaust.edu.sa/about/contact-us
| Information | What to Provide |
|---|---|
| Team Name | The name of the Team |
| Purpose | What the Team will be used for |
| Owners | At least two Team owners |
| Members | The people who should initially be added |
| External Access | Whether external collaborators are required |
Every Team should have at least two owners. This helps ensure the Team can still be managed if one owner leaves or changes role.
Owners are responsible for:
| Create a New Team | Create a New Channel |
|---|---|
|
|
Example: Research Computing could be the Team, while GPU Projects could be a channel inside it.
Standard channels are visible to everyone in the Team and should be used for most collaboration.
Private channels are only visible to selected members within the Team.
Use private channels for:
Teams can support collaboration with external guests such as research collaborators, vendors, or project partners.
Files shared in a Teams channel are stored in the Team’s SharePoint site. Each channel has its own folder for files.
What this means in practice:
In a channel, open the Files tab to view and work with shared documents. Select Open in SharePoint when you need more advanced options such as folder organization or permissions management.
Participants can join from the Teams desktop app, mobile app, or a web browser.
Screen sharing allows you to present content during a meeting.
| Sharing Option | What It Shares | When to Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | Your entire display | When you need to move between multiple apps or windows |
| Window | One application window | When you want to show only one program and avoid exposing other content |
| PowerPoint Live | Your PowerPoint presentation in Teams | When presenting slides and you want a better meeting experience than normal screen sharing |
| Whiteboard | A collaborative digital canvas | When brainstorming, sketching ideas, or teaching visually |
PowerPoint Live is designed specifically for presenting PowerPoint slides in Teams. Instead of sharing your full screen, you present the slide deck directly inside Teams.
Why use PowerPoint Live?
Use PowerPoint Live whenever your main goal is to present a slide deck rather than demonstrate several applications.
Whiteboard gives meeting participants a digital collaborative canvas for sketching ideas, diagrams, notes, or workflows.
When you turn on your camera, your video appears in the meeting gallery with other participants. Teams provides several layout options depending on the meeting and the size of your screen.
Common meeting views include:
These views can usually be adjusted through the meeting view controls during the meeting.
One of the most common frustrations in Teams is that when you are sharing content, it can be difficult to keep the shared content, participant videos, and the chat all comfortably visible on one screen.
Recommended workaround:
The best practical workaround is to use a dual-monitor setup.
Example setup:
Monitor 1: The content you are sharing
Monitor 2: The Teams meeting window with participant videos and chat
Unfortunately, this is largely a limitation of the current Teams experience on a single monitor rather than something you are doing wrong.
The meeting chat is useful for questions, links, and quick feedback during a session.
Use chat for questions and side comments, but avoid letting it replace the main discussion when the topic needs verbal attention.
Muted channels remain available, but they stop sending the same level of interruption.
Use the search bar at the top of Teams to find messages, files, people, and meeting-related content. Search is especially useful when conversations have moved on but the information still matters.
Teams meetings can be recorded when appropriate.
Depending on the type of meeting, recordings are typically stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.
Use chat.
Use a channel post.
Upload the file to the channel Files tab.
Schedule a Teams meeting and choose the best content-sharing option for the session.
