How to Install the Microsoft Teams App

The Bigger Brains eLearning app is a free app inside the Microsoft Teams Appstore. This app allows anyone to create tabs to view Bigger Brains eLearning in any Channel or Chat inside Microsoft Teams.

Any User can add the Bigger Brains eLearning app, unless prevented by organization settings or policy. A Teams Admin can also add the app for all Users in their organization.

Accessing Through the Left-Side Rail: #

The Bigger Brains eLearning app can be accessed from the Left-Side Rail in Microsoft Teams, or by creating a Tab in any Chat or Channel.

• Select the three-dot icon from the Left-Side Rail.
• Search & choose Bigger Brains eLearning from the Apps menu.
• You could also right-click the app and choose Pin to make it always appear on the Left-Side Rail.

When accessed from the Left-Side Rail, the Teams app has two tabs:

• BrainStation:
  • This includes all eLearning courses and Learning Portal features.
• Landing Page:
  • This includes instructions for using the app.

Accessing Through a Tab: #

The Bigger Brains eLearning app can also be accessed by creating a Tab.

• In any Chat or Channel, add a new Tab by clicking the + icon.
• After clicking the + icon, search for ‘Bigger Brains eLearning’.
• If you don’t see ‘Bigger Brains eLearning’, go to the Teams App store and make sure the app is installed.

Which License Should You Choose? #

After adding a Tab, you will be asked to choose from one of three license types. The app will check your Microsoft User ID and recommend a license type if it finds your account in one of our systems.

• Use a Free License:
  • As the name implies, this is a free license. Only a handful of sample courses are available with this license.
• Use Individual Licenses:
  • This license uses the individual’s Team ID (their email address, usually) to verify their license with the Bigger Brains Portal. If IT Service Providers have set up Users in the Bigger Brains Portal, they will be validated using this license type.
• Enter a new Corporate License ID:
  • This license will prompt for a Corporate license ID. This will mainly be used by those who use our content in SCORM format. The Corporate license feature is used when the Bigger Brains content is being used from a Learning Management System (LMS) not from the Bigger Brains Portal.

Please Remember:

For your clients, the choice between the ‘Individual’ or ‘Corporate’ license depends on how they access our content. The app will check their User ID and recommend a license type.

If you have setup each client as a User in our online Learning Portal, BrainStation, then your clients will access the app through the ‘Individual’ license. The system will then check the Portal to validate their individual username.

If your client uses our SCORM content in an LMS, you would choose the ‘Corporate’ license. To complete this process, you will need a Corporate license ID. You will enter the license ID in the app when prompted, and all Users in that organization will have access to the training content up to the limit allowed by that license key.

For IT Service Providers who access Bigger Brains content via DeskDirector or CloudRadial, you will also use the ‘Corporate’ license option, please contact Bigger Brains for a license ID.

Please contact support@bigger-brains.com if you do not have a license ID for a client.

What Kind of Tab Options Are Available? #

• BrainStation LMS View:
  • This Tab displays the Bigger Brains Learning Portal, BrainStation. It features the Bigger Brains course library and any custom content created by the Team Leaders for the organization.
• Full Course Catalog View:
  • This Tab displays all available courses inside BrainStation. It is similar to the BrainStation view, except instead of starting from the ‘My Courses’ screen, it will start by displaying the entire Course Library View.
• Single Course View:
  • This Tab displays only one selected course.
• Learning Path View:
  • This Tab will show one Learning Path. A Learning Path is a collection of courses grouped in a specific order. When selected, this view will prompt you to choose an existing Learning Path or create a new one. Selecting ‘Existing Learning Path’ will display all created Learning Paths for you to choose from. Selecting ‘New Learning Path’ will prompt you to create a Learning Path from the Bigger Brains course library, or custom courses created by the Team Leaders for the organization.
• Reports:
  • This Tab displays a reporting dashboard for the individual or for the Team. Team reporting is only available for Team Leaders.

What to the Tab Options Look Like? #

After Selecting the View, Finish Creating the Tab: #

After selecting the view you would like to use, you will be asked to enter a name for the Tab. Enter the name and choose ‘Save’. If you select the Single Course type, you’ll be prompted to pick which course will display. After choosing the course, you will be asked to enter a name for the Tab.

Note: The Tab can always be renamed later as well.

Does a Team Leader have any Extra Features in the Teams App? #

A Team Leader can see a dashboard of all the Users in their Team. They can also view Course and User Reports, create Custom Courses, create Learning Paths, assign courses to Users, and limit which courses are available to any Users on their Team.

FAQs: #

1. How do I promote Users to be a Team Leader?
   • If you use the Individual license option, this article will explain the process.
   • If you use the ‘Corporate’ license, you must email support@bigger-brains.com for information on Team Leader capabilities.  Corporate license customers do not have full Team Leader capabilities, but can upgrade to add BrainStation to their account to get full features.
2. If I complete a course in the Teams app, does it show as completed in the online Learning Portal (BrainStation)?
   • Yes, currently progress in the Teams app is linked to any progress in BrainStation.
3. Will Users receive a Certificate of Completion for completing a course in the Teams App?
   • Yes, these work the same as they do in BrainStation.
4. If we add Custom Courses in the online Learning Portal, will they show up in the Teams App?
   • Yes, currently the Teams app can show Bigger Brains courses as well as custom-made courses. The same goes for Learning Paths.
5. My User sees a “Your license cannot be validated” message when accessing the Tab in Teams, why is that?
   • Most often, this is because the User does not have an account set up in your Bigger Brains Portal. Adding the User to the Portal should resolve the issue. In limited cases, it may occur because the Teams ID does not match the User’s email address. This happens most often with the free personal version of Microsoft Teams, but it can also happen in Microsoft 365 environments that are not using Microsoft 365 for email services. In those cases, the Teams ID may be reported as something like chip@biggerbrains.onmicrosoft.com. Creating the User account in Bigger Brains with that onmicrosoft.com ID may resolve the issue.
6. My User is asking me for their license ID, where do I find that?
   • If you are using the Bigger Brains Portal, there is usually no license ID. Many Users choose the ‘Corporate’ license (instead of the ‘Individual’ license), which prompts for a license ID. Ask the User to create the Tab with the ‘Individual’ license option instead.