4.3 Tips for breakout rooms

Preparation

As with any online activity it is very important to plan the activity in advance and to be prepared. Practice the breakout rooms with the students in advance.

Groups

Depending on your software the names students use when they join the class may not match the student username that the educator is familiar with. Having students allocated to groups in advance can be useful, but be aware that all students might not attend.

Preparing the breakout rooms

Set up the breakout rooms in advance with the tools you want the students to use, ensuring the tools have been enabled for student access. Have one slide with the exercise available in each breakout room in advance which explains what tools the students are expected to use and what exactly they will do.

Visiting the groups

Remember to visit each group in turn so you know who you have visited. Make notes in each rooms of things that come up that are relevant for the whole class and need to be brought back into the main class. You may need to set a timer for yourself so you know when to call them back from the rooms.

Timing

Use notifications to inform students of the time, 3 minutes to go before breakouts over. Warn them just before you pull them back to the main room.

Frequency

Like any other activity, don’t do this too often!

Using Zoom for breakout rooms

Short video on how to use Zoom for breakouts. (Link opens in a new window).