Microsoft Teams vs Zoom | which one is suitable for

Microsoft Teams vs Zoom | which one is suitable for learning and education

Zoom or Microsoft Teams? That is the question

Although there are several video conferencing and collaboration programs available, two in particular have skyrocketed in popularity in the last year or so: Microsoft Teams and Zoom. With many organisations planning for a shift to a hybrid working paradigm in which employees split their time between the office and home, tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams will continue to play a significant role in the workplace.

When it comes to online learning each one has unique characteristics that improve the overall learning experience while also making things easier for instructors and students; But what are the distinctions between them?

In the argument between Microsoft Teams and Zoom, we feel Teams is better suited to online learning for a variety of reasons that are explained below.

MS Teams and Zoom meeting length and maximum participants

Zoom is a cloud-based video conferencing software that allows 30 hours of meeting and up to 100 people by default to participate in audio and video meetings with HD audio and video. Large Meeting ad-on versions may host up to 1000 people for an indefinite period of time.

On the other hand, Microsoft Teams allows up to 300 students in Office 365 A1 plan which is free for educational institutions, and unlimited number of participants for paid versions. MS Teams free versions include 10 GB of shared space and 2 GB per user and the video conferencing time restriction has been temporarily increased to 24 hours. Users can also send texts, video chats and channel conversations as much as they need.

Online classroom collaboration features

Teachers and students may share their screens and use collaboration features like file sharing, real-time co-annotation, and digital whiteboarding using Zoom. Breakout rooms, virtual backdrops, in-meeting chat, and the ability to record meetings are also available. Zoom is also compatible with a wide range of devices and can be used to schedule or start meetings from Outlook, Gmail, or iCal.

With MS Teams, students may interact with each other and with their professors, ask questions in class, collaborate on projects, work on assignments and monitor their progress, use an online whiteboard, and manage files and group work using MS Teams. It’s exactly how we expect a virtual classroom to be. Educators can divide classes into smaller groups to encourage teamwork and discussion using breakout rooms they can also track student engagement data and their daily work progress using Assignments.

Furthermore, Microsoft Teams provides a new feature for assignments which is weekly guardian e-mail digest, it sends emails to students’ parents in order to inform them about the assignments of the previous week and the upcoming week.

Integrations

Zoom and Microsoft Teams, as you might assume, share many of the same basic collaboration capabilities, such as high-quality video conferencing, phone conferences, text chat, and group messaging. Microsoft Teams really shines when it comes to integrations with the rest of the Microsoft 365 suite or other 3^rd party apps in order to add additional flexibility and control over the platform.

Teams, for example, is tightly integrated with OneDrive and SharePoint, making file sharing and data storage simple and intuitive. Meanwhile, a planned PowerPoint integration will make taking notes during presentations and communicating with the audience easier.

One of the Teams’ best integration options for educational purposes is Moodle. Moodle is a high-end open-source Learning Management System (LMS) that allows educators bring their students collaboration along with their assignments and courses inside one single hub. Moodle and Teams integration provide a tab in the MS Teams interface to allow students communicate and ask questions about their grades, courses, and assignments.

However, Zoom’s App marketplace boasts hundreds of third-party connectors, significantly expanding the company’s capabilities. Some user will like Zoom’s brighter, less cluttered UI, which is simple to use even for the least tech-savvy users, but it has its own limitations!

Anyone who only uses Zoom for conferencing may distinguish its lack of collaborative capabilities, while Teams built-in customisation and integrations offer a complete solution for any educational institute special needs.

For this, we – in 365 Digital Consulting – prefer to employ Microsoft Teams because with the help of Teams integrations users can benefit the most out of their online courses. The goal of 365 Digital Consulting is to provide a Microsoft office 365 cost-effective solution which is tailor-made for educational institutions.

So, Microsoft Teams vs Zoom features-wise awards goes to Teams!

When it comes to security

Cybersecurity is a critical concern for modern institutes, and end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is considered the holy grail of video conferencing security.

Zoom was at the center of a controversy at the onset of the epidemic because its E2EE were out of work and in some cases pranksters and subversives could interfere the video conferencing with rude or shocking content.

Microsoft Teams brings advanced security to its users. Microsoft Office 365’s users should be aware that they are the only ones who control their data and Microsoft does not use their data for advertising or for any other intentions that are not service-related.

The improved Microsoft 365 defender brings Advanced Threat protection (ATP) to MS Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and any other app which has been integrated with Microsoft 365 suite. It makes sure all the content in the applications is safe to use and blocks malicious content.

Other Benefits of Microsoft Teams for education

Utilizing Microsoft Teams for education brings countless benefits to institutes by centralizing collaboration and learning in one hub.

Benefits of Microsoft Teams for educators, teachers, and institutes

• Teams brings everyone into a single virtual classroom. Live class sessions, text and voice chat, calendars, assignments, quizzes, Live Events, and more may all be found in Teams.
• For educators, Teams makes collaboration and class management easier. Educators can create rubrics, give homework, and broadcast lectures. Internal meetings and the sharing of course materials or lesson plans are also possible with teams.
• Educators may personalize their teaching and learning with the help of Teams. No coding knowledge is necessary for educators to create customised experiences using custom apps and features inside Teams.
• Teams tailors learning to the individual requirements of students. Educators may analyze student and class progress, identify at-risk kids, and take action to enhance outcomes with Insights in Teams.
• All students are included in Teams, which have built-in accessibility features. Immersive Reader, dictation, live captioning, translation, and other accessibility capabilities are available from Microsoft Teams vs Zoom.

Benefits for IT

• In a single pane of glass, Microsoft Teams links people to the tools they need. Teams integrates with hundreds of applications, like Kahoot, Flipgrid, Prezi, and more, to give you complete control over apps.
• Microsoft Teams uses applications, flows, and bots to automate tasks. To save time on everyday activities, Power Platform connects with Teams to provide customized little to no code applications, processes, chatbots, and analytics.
• Teams receive meaningful data to assist school administrators in optimizing learning. The Insights tool assists administrators in identifying trends, identifying areas for improvement, and adjusting your school’s remote learning approach.
• Teams makes it simple to maintain policies and guarantees student safety. Set team naming standards, gain visibility into security concerns, and recognize or limit inappropriate words and dangerous actions.

Verdict on Microsoft Teams vs Zoom

Last but not least, both Microsoft Teams and Zoom provide substantial free levels. The key distinction is that Teams includes video calls, 2GB of personal cloud storage, and unlimited chat, whereas Zoom is just available for video conferencing.

Even if you go for Zoom’s video conferencing-only services, Teams is by far the most cost-effective alternative. Teams also benefits from its integration, which might tip the scales in its favor. Microsoft Office 365 integration has the potential to win the war between Teams and Zoom on its own.

As a Microsoft partner, 365 Digital Consulting supports educational institutes with the implementation of Office 365 Teams integrations. They may focus on their objectives with the help of our Microsoft 365 consulting services. While we deliver best Microsoft office 365 solutions and provide online services to them. Educational institutes may keep their software development expenses under control by using our services.

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