Creating a Separate Channel in Microsoft Teams

Why Create a Separate Channel?

A dedicated channel lets you:

  • Keep sprint-specific or topic-specific discussions organized.

  • Limit access to a subset of students, mentors, or TAs.

  • Separate private files and chat threads from the main team.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Open your Team in MS Teams

    Manage Team
    Figure 1. Manage Team

  2. Open Team Settings: Hover over the team name in the left sidebar, click the More options icon (…), and select Manage team.

    Create Channel
    Figure 2. Create Channel

  3. Add a New Channel At the top-right of the Channels tab, click + Add.

  4. Name & Describe Channel name → use something concise (e.g., Student Discussion Board). Description → add context so members understand the channel’s purpose.

    Privacy Levels
    Figure 3. Privacy Levels

  5. Choose Privacy Level

    • Standard – visible to everyone in the team.

    • Private – visible only to selected members. (For student-only collaboration spaces, choose Private.)

  6. Select Members If you chose Private, search for and add the specific students, mentors, or TAs who need access.

  7. Create Click Create. Teams builds the channel and provisions its own Files tab and conversation space.

  8. Manage As an owner managing the channel after creation, you can add and remove members and delete the channel.

Tips & Best Practices

  • Create another channel as a discussion board. Encourage students to frequently post, share ideas, or plan team events.

  • Limit the number of channels to avoid clutter; archive or hide inactive ones after the semester.

  • Permissions: Only Owners can create Private channels unless you loosen team-wide settings.

  • Use @mention inside the new channel to notify added members the first time you post.