Live/Synchronous Activities

When to Use the New Breakout Rooms

Instructors now have the option to create breakout rooms that enable learners to choose their own breakout room without any additional assistance from the instructor or co-hosts. While much group work operates best with pre-assigned groups, there are times when allowing learners to self-select their breakout room is preferred. For example, in a manufacturing class, you may plan a round robin discussion with different topics (e.g. design, production, testing, logistics) and enable learners to choose where to begin their discussion. Self-selecting breakout rooms also allow learners to freely move between breakout rooms without any further intervention by a host or co-host. Using the broadcast feature, the host or co-hosts could inform learners in each breakout room when to move onto the next discussion topic, before finally bringing everyone back into the main session for reflection. 

Using the Ask For Help Button

Before a recent Zoom update, the only way a learner could pose a question to their instructor while in a breakout room was either by waiting for the instructor to join their breakout room, or rejoining the main session and waiting for the instructor to return. Now each learner has access to an Ask for Help button inside the breakout room. Using the Ask for Help button will alert the instructor that the learner has a question and provide a link back to that learner’s breakout room. The instructor can then answer the question directly in the breakout room, which allows for a more personal interaction. Something to consider is that in a class with a large number of learners or breakout rooms, it can become difficult to keep track of which learners have used the Ask for Help button. Smaller classes or fewer breakout rooms make it easier to track learners’ questions. To mitigate confusion, you may consider asking each group to designate one person responsible for using the button.

Rearranging Video Windows During a Meeting

One of Zoom’s best features, its Gallery View, can also become one of its biggest frustrations due to the way the video windows shift as participants enter and leave throughout a session. A recent Zoom update now allows for the host to rearrange the video windows using a simple drag and drop, and to lock this view so all participants see the same fixed view of video windows. This feature is especially beneficial for class discussions, such as introductory sessions, where you want to ensure you’ve heard from all learners. Additionally, placing the instructional team at the top of the gallery view ensures that your class will always be able to see their instructors’ video window.

Using the Spotlight Feature for Group Presentations and Accessibility

Previously, Zoom only allowed for one video to be selected as the Spotlight, which enables learners to only see pre-determined primary active speakers (e.g. the instructor). Recently, Zoom updated this feature to allow for up to nine video windows to be selected as the Spotlight. This update is hugely beneficial for group presentations, enabling the instructor to select all of the group members as primary active speakers. This eliminates the need to swap Spotlight between group members and allows for a more seamless group presentation. This new feature is also important for accessibility. If any learners in your course are deaf or hard of hearing, you can spotlight the video of both yourself and an interpreter to ensure those learners are able to follow along.

Provide Learners with a Plan for Communication and Assistance

When using breakout rooms, it is important to provide your learners with a clear plan for communication, especially if something does not go as planned. Incorporating this communication plan into your verbal or written presentation and placing it prominently in your syllabus will go a long way towards ensuring that learners feel supported and comfortable asking questions. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Remind learners that they can use the Ask for Help button in the breakout room to reach out to the instructional team. Also let them know they can leave the breakout room and return to the main room to ask a question.

Have one host or co-host remain in the main room to act as an extra layer of support if the primary host experiences technical issues, or to answer questions. This will ensure that questions are answered in a timely fashion, especially if the host is unavailable for any reason. Setting up alternate hosts, such as a GSI or a learner(s), is also a great way to ensure continuity if the main host experiences issues with their connection during class.

You can also use the broadcast tool to send short reminders, time left on task, or clarifications out to all rooms. Please note that such broadcast messages don’t stay up for long, so you may wish to broadcast important information more than once. Also keep in mind that the host and co-hosts can visit any room they want, though co-hosts must be manually placed in a breakout room by the host before they are able to move among the other rooms.

Provide Learners with Clear Directions and Expectations

In addition to a clear communication plan, consider putting these instructions on a slide and reviewing them with the entire class before sending learners to breakout rooms. This gives learners a chance to review the task and ask questions before leaving the main session. Additionally, you may choose to supply this information via the File tool in the Chat window so your learners have access to the slide while in the breakout rooms. Some important information to include:

• Zoom software update (5.3 or greater required for breakout rooms)
• Time allowed for task
• Topics for discussion
• Expectations for group members

Deliverables post-breakout rooms, such as:

• Group presentations using the Spotlight feature
• Group reports submitted via Canvas Assignment tool
• Attendance requirements
• Zoom allows for the export of the participant list for each meeting.

A low stakes way to reduce anxiety and create a comfortable space for your learners is to hold a short introductory Zoom session at the beginning of the semester. The session can be short, serving as a way to work through any technical issues before beginning the course work. It is also the perfect opportunity to walk through class expectations, the communication plan, and any directions you want to provide prior to breakout sessions. Place learners in their breakout rooms to share introductions and supply them with a reason to try out the Ask for Help button. This also gives you and any alternate hosts the opportunity to test the Broadcast to All button, as well as moving between breakout rooms. 

Breakout Room Ideas & Examples

Best practices can only take you so far, especially if you’re not sure when or why to use breakout rooms in your course. The section below outlines different ways to use breakout rooms during the semester. Consider varying how you use breakout rooms to help keep learners engaged and sharing ideas.

Small Group Discussions

• This is one of most common uses of breakout rooms. Brainstorming, group presentations, and discussion sections are all great ways to use breakout rooms.

Round Robin / Birds of a Feather

• Self-selecting breakout rooms are ideal for round robin or “bird of a feather” sessions, where learners bounce from topic to topic. Begin by posing a question to the learners, allowing them time to think independently, and then allow them to enter the breakout room of their choice for a timed discussion. Use the Broadcast to All tool to keep learners on task and aware of time remaining. Once time is up, alert learners to switch to a new breakout room. As noted above, self-selecting breakout rooms allow learners to move independently between rooms without the need of a host or co-host to manually move them.

1:1 Peer Discussions

• Think-Pair-Share is a great way to enable learners to experience a paired breakout session. Begin by posing a question to the class and allowing learners time to think independently. Then separate the learners into paired breakout groups where they discuss the question and share their thoughts. Bring all learners back together in the main session and allow for time to share what they discussed in their breakout rooms.

Peer review is also a great way to use paired breakout rooms. Separate the learners into paired groups and allow them the time to peer review the other learners’ prepared assignment or document. Using a collaborative tool such as Google Docs allows learners to easily peer edit documents.