Microsoft Teams is constantly providing updates to its platform, but the latest is one that users have been begging for: the ability to upload your own backgrounds. Now, you can create a personalized scene and Teams will virtually place you directly into your image. In this blog post, you’ll learn:
What are some suggested apps you can use to design a custom Microsoft Teams background
How to upload your custom background to Microsoft Teams
Find free backgrounds to download and then upload to Microsoft Teams
Something to keep in mind when designing is that the resolution of your canvas should be 1920 x 1080, and the best format to save as are PNG files.
IMPORTANT: If you have text in your background, it will appear mirrored (or flipped) after you click “apply” in the final step below. But, it will not appear this way to others joining your meeting. It will display properly.
What are some suggested apps you can use to design a custom Microsoft Teams background?
There are a few different options when creating your background. Let’s look over a few of the most popular!
Adobe Spark:
Click here to access the Adobe Spark website
Cost: Free for educators (your IT department will have to set it up, though!)
Why use Spark?
Adobe Spark is easy to use and provides simple options when branding content. You can easily search for royalty free stock images - all safe for EDU environments, and even “remix” ideas from other users.
Buncee:
Click here to access the Buncee website
Cost: Free for the “Lite” version, additional options available
Why use Buncee?
Buncee is a user-friendly platform that’s a one stop shop. You can find everything that you’ll need to create without ever having to leave the app, including safe search / royalty free images.
PowerPoint:
Click here to access the Office 365 website
Cost: Free for the “A1” version (includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and more), additional options available
Why use PowerPoint?
PowerPoint is familiar for most, making it easy and comfortable to design in. You can also easily duplicate slides to design several backgrounds at once.
How to upload your custom background to Microsoft Teams
Now that you have your custom background created, follow these steps to upload it to Teams:
From your channel or chat, click the camera icon to start a new meeting.
After the new window opens, click on “Meet Now” to launch the meeting.
Once the meeting has started, click on “Show Background Effects.”
A window will open on the right side of the screen. Click on “Add New” on the top right .
Upload your file, then scroll down to find the image. Select the image, then click “Apply.”
(Note: If you have text in your background, it will appear mirrored (or backwards) on your side of the screen - but, Teams displays the background correctly to others who have joined your meeting)
Free Backgrounds to Download
Looking to save some time? We hear you. Here’s a few neat backgrounds that we found that you are free to download / upload on your own. To do so, simply right click then select save (remember to watch where you are saving the file so that you can find it later on!).
Please note: We did not create any of these, just found them being shared online. All of these images have been labeled for reuse.
Animal Crossing:
Source: Nintendo
The Big Bang Theory:
Source: TBS
Blue’s Clues:
Source: Nickelodeon
Fortnite:
Source: Epic Games
Friends:
Source: FOX
Game of Thrones:
Source: HBO
Jeopardy:
Source: NBC
The Last O.G.:
Source: TBS
Minecraft:
Source: Microsoft
Parks and Recreation:
Source: NBC
Schitt’s Creek:
Source: Netflix
The Simpsons:
Source: Fox
Spongebob Squarepants:
Source: Nickelodeon
Star Wars:
Source: Star Wars / Disney
The Office:
Source: NBC
Today Show:
Source: NBC
Top Gun:
Source: Paramount
Toy Story:
Source: Pixar / Disney
Stay interACTIVE!
~👗➕👓
For more information on how you can make learning in the classroom more #interACTIVE, check out our books The InterACTIVE Class and Flipgrid in the InterACTIVE Class!
