.. _Learner Experience of Teams:

The Learner's Experience of Teams
#################################

.. tags:: educator, concept

After you have :ref:`enabled teams <Manage Teams>` and created topics in your
course, learners can begin browsing topics and joining teams. Teams are formed
within topics. Each learner can belong to only one team.

.. contents::
  :local:
  :depth: 1

Browsing Teams by Topic
***********************

On the **Teams** page in the LMS, learners in your course can browse topics to
find a subject that they are interested in collaborating on. Learners can sort
topics alphabetically by name, or by the number of teams in a topic.

.. image:: /_images/educator_concepts/Teams_TopicArrowButton.png
  :width: 500
  :alt: On the page showing available topics, one topic has the arrow button
      that takes users to the list of teams within that topic highlighted.

Within each topic, learners can view existing teams. The overview for each
team shows the team's name and description, the number of members and
available spots, and the elapsed time since the last activity in the team.

To find teams, learners can sort teams by the most recent activity or by the
most open spots. They can also use keywords to search for teams that might
match their interests, language, or country.

When learners locate a team that they might be interested in joining, they can
select **View** on the team overview to view team details.

.. image:: /_images/educator_concepts/Teams_TopicViewButton.png
  :width: 500
  :alt: View of a team within a topic showing name and description, number of members.

On each team's details page, learners can view the team's name and
description, as well as any optional characteristics that were specified, such
as a primary language of communication and a country that members primarily
identify with. While they are browsing teams, learners can read any team's
discussion posts, but they cannot add posts to a team's discussion forum
unless they join that team.

Joining, Creating, or Leaving a Team
************************************

When learners find a team that they want to join, they select **Join Team**
and are immediately added to the team membership.

.. note:: Learners can belong to only one team. If a learner already belongs
   to a team, the **Join Team** button is not available when they view other
   teams. To join a new team, learners must first leave their existing team.

Learners can create their own teams if they cannot find a team they want to
join. Under the list of existing teams in a topic, learners select **create a
new team in this topic**. This link is available only to learners who do not
already belong to a team.

.. image:: /_images/educator_concepts/Teams_CreateNewTeamLink.png
  :width: 500
  :alt: View of a team within a topic showing name and description, number of members.

Learners specify a name and description for their team, and optionally specify
a country and language that team members identify with. A learner who creates
a team automatically becomes a member of the new team.

.. note:: The recommendation is to encourage learners to join existing teams
   before they create new teams.

.. note:: Because course staff who have the role of Admin, Discussion Moderator,
   or Discussion Admin can create multiple teams, these course staff are not
   automatically added to teams that they create. This is also true for learners
   who have the community TA role.

At any time, learners can leave teams that they have joined, although you
should emphasize to learners that they should try not to change teams after
any team projects or activities have started. Learners who leave a team will
also be unable to continue contributing to discussion threads in the team that
they have left.

.. Add back Invite Others when available

Participating in Team Discussions
*********************************

Only members of a team (or anyone with a discussion administrator, discussion
moderator, or community TA role) can post to a team's discussion forum. Any
learner in your course can view team discussions without being a member, but
they cannot add posts to a team's discussion unless they also belong to that
team.

.. note:: Team discussions are not divided by cohort. Learners who are in the
   same team but who belong to different cohorts can view and participate in
   their team discusssions without regard to the cohort they belong to.

For information about course discussions and managing discussions, see
:ref:`About Course Discussions` and :ref:`Best Practices for Moderating Course Discussions`.

.. seealso::
 
 :ref:`About Teams` (concept)

 :ref:`Teams Configuration Options` (reference)

 :ref:`Manage Teams` (how-to)

 :ref:`Manage Teams Membership via CSV Upload` (how-to)

 :ref:`Connect Teams to Content Groups` (how-to)

 :ref:`Teams Discussions` (concept)

**Maintenance chart**

+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+
| Review Date  | Working Group Reviewer        |   Release      |Test situation                  |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+
|              |                               |                |                                |
+--------------+-------------------------------+----------------+--------------------------------+