Annotation Tools in a Teams Video

You can now annotate over whatever you are sharing on your screen in Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams now has the functionality that allows you to annotate over anything you screen share during a call. You have the ability to choose whether only you as a presenter can annotate or if anyone in the call can collaborate.

When you start your share, you MUST choose to share the screen. The annotate function does NOT work with a window share. Once you start the share you can access the annotate features through the toolbar at the top of your screen. Select the pencil icon to begin

A pop-up window will display prompting you to decide if only you can annotate or if anyone can contribute. Once you have started annotating, you can select the gear icon to change your decision as far as who can annotate.

The toolbar has a number of options. Some of my favorites are:

Place a sticky note on your screen to share thoughts.
Use the shape tool to encompass items.
Use the pen and highlighter tools for quick annotations.
The select tool can help you manipulate the background.
Use the delete option to delete a specific annotation or all annotations at one time.

You can see here how the annotation tools can draw your attention to areas of the screen.

Ideas for Implementation

Using the annotation tool will greatly help keep students engaged and is a great way to include them when working online.
Record your call so that students who cannot make attend can watch the recording later with your annotations to help with understanding.