Microsoft Class Teams channels can quickly become cluttered if you’re teaching multiple topics or juggling conversations between different and groups.
This guide shows you how you can organise everything neatly by creating and managing channels.
Keith demonstrates how to:
- Create custom channels for separate topics or projects
- Choose between standard, private or shared channels
- Archive or delete channels you no longer need
- Restore deleted channels, if you change your mind!
Watch the full video walkthrough now.
Why use channels in Microsoft Class Teams?
Channels in Microsoft Teams help you to organise conversations, making everything (such as “Homework Help”, “GCSE Revision” or “Group Projects”) easier to find. This enables you to store topic-specific files in one place and reduce clutter in the General channel.
Not only does this help everyone to easily navigate their workspace, it also helps with wider student and staff engagement.
How to create a new channel in Class Teams
It’s easy to create a new channel in Microsoft Teams:
- Go to your Team.
- Select Add channel.
- Give your new channel a name.
- Choose the channel type:
- Standard – everyone in the team can access.
- Private – only selected members can access.
- Shared – share with people outside the team.
- Hit Create and your new channel will be created.
💡 Tip
To automatically show this channel in students’ channel list, tick the box accordingly.
Your new channel has its own conversation area (for posts and discussions) and includes a Files tab, where you can upload or create documents specific to that topic.
How to archive a channel
Archiving channels in Teams lets you keep all conversations, files and posts, but removes the channel from active view. Perfect when you’ve finished a topic but don’t want to lose the resources.
Here’s how you archive a Microsoft Teams channel:
- Tap the three dots (…) next to the channel name you wish to archive.
- Choose Edit channel.
- Select Archive.
- You can opt to make the channel read-only for all members.
📝 Note
You can view your archived channels in hidden channels.
How to delete a channel in Microsoft Teams
When you’re sure the channel is no longer needed, you can delete it. This is usually an option for channels created by mistake, short-term projects or plans that never took off.
When a channel is deleted, conversations are removed from view and files are moved to SharePoint, but not permanently deleted.
Here’s how to delete a channel in Microsoft Teams:
- Tap the three dots (…).
- Choose Delete channel.
- A warning will appear for you to read through and accept.
- Confirm Delete.
How to restore a deleted channel in Microsoft Teams
Did you accidentally delete a channel? You can restore a deleted channel in a few quick steps:
- Go to your Team and select the three dots (…).
- Select Manage team.
- In the Channels tab, scroll to Deleted.
- Find the deleted channel you wish to reinstate, and tap Restore.
This instantly adds your deleted channel back to your list.
Channels are a simple but powerful tool to bring structure to your class team. Use them to split up units, create spaces for group work, or store revision materials. And when you’re done, archive or delete to keep Teams tidy.
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