Microsoft Teams

The Microsoft 365 integration offers 2 ways to incorporate Microsoft Teams in your courses: by scheduling Teams meetings or by creating a full Team.

Set up the Microsoft Education Integration

Your first step is to configure the Microsoft Education integration to include the tools you want to use. 

  1. Open the Content Market by clicking the Books & Tools link in the Details & Actions panel to the right of your course
  2. Click Microsoft Education 
  3. Click the Sign in button
  4. Click the Continue setup button
  5. Turn off the slider for any tools you do not want to use (detailed explanations of the tools are available in this blog post from Microsoft)

    screenshot of the Microsoft Education configuration showing the sliders to select applications
  6. Turn on the slider for Add Microsoft Teams if you want to create a full Team for your students (not required for holding meetings via Teams)
  7. Click the Done button

You can return to this configuration at any time by accessing the Microsoft Education integration, clicking your profile icon in the upper right, and choosing Course Settings from the menu.

screenshot of the Microsoft Education integration showing the settings menu.

Student Access to Microsoft Education 

Students can access the Microsoft tools via the Books & Tools link in the Details & Actions panel. You can also add a link to the integration within your course materials (i.e., on the Content page of your course or within a folder) to make it easier for them to find. 

Add a link to the Microsoft Education tools

  1. Click the + icon wherever you would like the link to appear within your content list
  2. Click Content Market in the menu
  3. Click the + icon in the lower right corner of the Microsoft Education box

    screenshot of the Microsoft Education box in the Content Market highlighting the plus icon in the lower right corner

Once the link has been created, you can drag and drop to move it to a new location or edit it (click the ellipsis (...) and Edit) to change the name and description

Teams Meetings

If you only want to use Microsoft Teams as a web conferencing tool, you will use the Teams Meeting tool. When selecting tools to enable in the integration, you only need to enable Teams Meetings

Schedule a Teams Meeting

  1. Open the Microsoft Education tools (via Books & Tools or a link in your course, if you made one)
  2. Click the Sign in button if prompted
  3. Click Teams Meetings
  4. Click the New Meeting button
  5. Add a title (this will appear in the scheduler and on your Outlook/Teams calendar) 
  6. Click the Allow anyone in the course to join checkbox - this allows students to join the meeting via the Teams Meeting integration

    OR

    Add individual students (for a meeting with some but not all students) or click Add entire class - this sends them a calendar invite to the link via email, adds it to their Outlook and Teams calendars, and allows them to access the meeting via the Teams Meetings integration
  7. Set a meeting date and time
  8. Click the Save button

Scheduled sessions will appear on the Upcoming tab. You and students can join the meeting by clicking the Join button.

Once the meeting has been scheduled, you will see the meeting on your Outlook and Teams calendars outside of Blackboard. You can also join from the calendars. You can also edit the meeting from Outlook or Teams to change the session settings, invite outside guests, or copy the meeting link to share with students.

Recordings

If you record your Meeting, the recording will be placed in your OneDrive storage, in the Recordings folder. You will need to manually retrieve the link to the recording from OneDrive and then post it in your Blackboard course.

Full Microsoft Team

The integration can also create a full Microsoft Team for your class for ongoing asynchronous collaboration. Students are automatically enrolled in your Team. 

Create a Microsoft Team via the Blackboard Integration

  1. Open the Microsoft Education tools (via Books & Tools or a link in your course, if you made one)
  2. Click the Sign in button if prompted
  3. During initial setup (or by clicking your profile icon in the upper right and selecting Course Settings), enable the toggle for Add Microsoft Teams
  4. Click the Done button

Once your Team has been created, you can access it via Blackboard or directly in the Teams application. You can check the status of the roster sync by accessing the Microsoft Education Course Settings and going to the Advanced tab.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Microsoft Teams not listed in the Details and Actions panel any longer? Where did it go? New

Microsoft updated their security protocols for integrations with learning management systems, which required implementing a new integration in Blackboard. Microsoft prioritized basic functionality that was consistent across all LMS's first, and the placement in Details & Actions is unique to Blackboard. 

They plan to add that functionality in the future, but you can still access Teams and Teams Meetings from the new Microsoft Education tool in the Content Market. You can also add a link to your course content by clicking the plus (+) icon next to it in the Content Market. That will make it easier for you and your students to access the tool. 

I created a Team using the Microsoft Education integration, but it doesn't have Assignments. Why is that? New

The new integration introduced in August 2025 creates professional learning community (PLC) Teams as opposed to Class Teams. PLC teams do not have Class Notebooks (they do have OneNote Notebooks, but without the Class functionality) and they do not have integrated Assignments. Learn more about Team Types.

If you want to have a Class Team, you will need to manually create a Team directly via Microsoft Teams instead of using the integration. When you create a Team manually, you can choose the Class type. You will also need to manually enroll your students in the Team.

Why do I need to sign in every time I access the Microsoft Education integration? New

In their first release of the integration, Microsoft did not include any mechanism to store your authentication. This means you have to click the Sign In button each time you access the tool. Fortunately, because you are already signed into Blackboard, you won't need to enter your credentials.

Microsoft plans to improve this functionality in a future update.

How can I add my Teams Meetings to the Course Calendar in Blackboard? New

Teams Meetings scheduled through the Blackboard integration are added to your personal Outlook and Teams calendars. If you click the link to Add entire class, your students will also have meetings added to their Outlook and Teams calendars.

You can manually add your meetings to your course calendar in Blackboard, if you prefer. You can copy the meeting link from the appointment on your Outlook or Teams calendar to paste into the Blackboard calendar. 

Microsoft plans to improve this functionality in a future update.


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