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Existing Teams and Channels First

This article applies to: Microsoft Teams


Teams is primarily a collaboration tool. It delivers the greatest benefit when it can bring together, and support coordination of, everyone who has something to contribute to a given goal or topic.

When looking to collaborate on a particular topic, first check to see if a team and channel already exist that you can join.

If nothing exists to meet that need, before creating a team or channel, think about how to create one that will:

  • Be findable by others who should be part of the discussion.
  • Be a good match for the people in the team. Guest access is not available in Cornell Teams.
  • Provide enough privacy to allow open discussion. 
  • Support apps or tools you need (Planner and Forms are not yet available in private channels).
  • Not contribute to team or channel sprawl or crowding.

More information about benefits and limitations of creating a new team or channel, and a table to help you decide which is the best fit, can be found in Joining and Creating Channels and Teams

Teams can be created by Cornell faculty and staff. Students can be added or join and participate in teams, but can't create them.

About this Article

Last updated: 

Tuesday, October 27, 2020 - 12:03pm

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