Virtual classes will transition to Microsoft Teams, replacing currently used Zoom at GBC.
George Brown College (GBC) is set to move away from Zoom starting January 2026.
Instead, online classes and learning will all take place on Microsoft Teams. The move is meant to simplify online learning, unify platforms, and reduce costs.
During the course of the transition Zoom will be removed from D2L on Dec. 23, before all accounts on Zoom being inaccessible as of Jan. 13, 2026.
Since the pandemic the college has used the Zoom platform as classes moved to an online – and then hybrid – format. During that time, GBC students all had access to Teams through a Microsoft 365 account which is provided to them free of charge.
With Teams becoming a more rounded platform and offering services which mirror those of Zoom, there were a few factors that led to this decision being made, notes Steve Camacho, CIO and vice-president of digital transformation.
“Over the years, especially coming out of the pandemic, Zoom was a leading product in terms of the features that offered and ease of use, those kinds of things. But there was also some challenges with it. some issue around security and so forth, such as things I don’t know if you heard during the pandemic, a lot of zoom bombing that was happening. Those were challenges, not so much that the platform isn’t secure, but it was not integrated with other systems in terms of your ability to log into it, identity, those types of things. So over time, although Zoom is a great product, over time, Microsoft’s been investing in teams to catch up to zoom, and they’re pretty much on feature parity right now,” said Camacho. “As we’re looking at things going into the next new fiscal year, we have both these platforms and Teams is part of our Microsoft licensing ecosystem. It’s not something we buy separately as part of that base license that we get for everybody, and we can’t separate that out, and it’s something that’s been working effectively for us. And we’re looking at Zoom going, ‘it’s still good product, but it’s costing us…’ And looking at that factor, going ‘well, what makes sense here? Why do we need two products that are essentially doing the same thing?’”
Camacho says that while he cannot share the exact cost, he says it is in the range of “several hundred thousands of dollars per year.”
The switch also addresses security and integration. Unlike Zoom, Teams requires login for classes, which avoids unauthorized participants. Teams also stores the chat history, letting students refer to conversations after meetings.
“It’s also important to note that Teams integrates with our Learning Management System (LMS), so the student experience will be very similar. Students already use their Microsoft 365 login, so the transition will be seamless. We may keep a small number of Zoom licences for specific use cases, like ASL or certain large webinars, but for the most part, students and faculty will be using Teams going forward,” he added.
As GBC prepares for the switch over to this platform, Camacho says that the college is currently going through the process of training staff and ensuring everyone is up to speed on the program. They’re also ensuring that students – both returning and incoming – are aware of the transition and that everything is integrated in the LMS.
To have the smoothest possible return and move to Teams, Camacho suggests everyone download the apps and get a handle on how it works.
“If you have never used Teams, try it. You already have the license. Log into it, download the app on your phone, and if you have a computer, download the app there too. Have those basic setup pieces done before your first day of classes so you’re not scrambling to find the mute button or the share button.”
Students needing assistance can contact the college’s helpdesk.
