Most of the courses or webinars run through UNISON College take place via Microsoft Teams.
Teams is a video conferencing platform run by Microsoft and is used by UNISON for its combination of real-time communication, interactive tools, and collaboration features.
For most sessions delivered by UNISON College, you will be sent a joining link via email in advance of the session taking place, and you will be sent a further email as a reminder.
As we work with a wide range of external partners, each with their own processes, we cannot provide a universal timeline of when you can expect to receive your joining link, but you should receive the necessary details for joining the session well in advance of the session taking place.
If you do not receive a joining link 1 week in advance of the start date, then please email l.organising@unison.co.uk for support.
How to join
The link sent to you will look something like this:
In most cases, you will only need to tap or left-click on the link shown above next to the arrow at the scheduled start time for the session, but on rare occasions you may experience issues. This is more likely to happen if you do not have Microsoft Teams installed on your device. Here are some things to try if that happens:
Clicking on the link doesn’t work
If you can’t join by left clicking the link attempt the following:
Right click on the text saying ‘Join the meeting now’, then left click on the option to open the hyperlink
OR
Right click on the same text as instructed above, select copy hyperlink, then right click the address bar (where you write websites at the top of a webpage), and select ‘paste’ from the options.
Using Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams can be accessed via your web browser or downloaded as an application for Windows or Mac. To download Microsoft Teams, following this link: Download Microsoft Teams Desktop and Mobile Apps | Microsoft Teams.
If you’re joining from your workplace you may not be able to download apps like Teams. This shouldn’t prevent you from accessing Teams, however, as you should be able to join meetings via your web browser instead – just launch the meeting as instructed in the previous step.
More tips and information
- Use this guide to find out more about how to turn on live captions in a Teams meeting or webinar: Using live captions in Microsoft Teams | UNISON College.
- Meetings vs Webinars: Teams offers both Meetings and Webinars, and they look and work a little differently. A Meeting is usually for smaller groups and allows everyone to interact, share video, and contribute. A Webinar, on the other hand, is typically for larger audiences and may have more restricted features. For example, in a webinar, you might not be able to unmute yourself unless the organizer allows it.
- Sometimes, when you join a Teams Meeting, you might be admitted right away, while other times you may have to wait in a lobby. This depends on how the organizer has set up the meeting. If there’s a lobby, you’ll see a message saying that you are waiting to be admitted.
- When you join a meeting, you may be muted by default to reduce background noise. You can unmute yourself by clicking the microphone icon at the top of your screen when you want to speak. If you’re in a webinar, the host may keep participants muted for the entire session, so you may not be able to do so.
- If you’re in a webinar or a larger meeting, you may not be able to talk unless the presenter allows you to. In that case, you can use the chat or Q&A feature to ask questions or make comments. These features may be disabled depending on the set up of the session.
- If you need to speak in a meeting or webinar, you can raise your hand to let the presenter know you have something to say. This is especially helpful in large meetings or webinars where people may be muted.