Working in small groups is possible during a ZOOM meeting using the Breakout Rooms component, which is available during the meeting. Participants are divided (randomly or by the lecturer) into small groups and have a discussion within the group. The lecturer can choose to participate in the discussion of any of the groups and the group can request the lecturer’s comment if necessary. At any stage, participants can return to the general meeting.
Create the workgroups:
1. Click Breakout Rooms in the menu.
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2. Choose the number of groups (rooms) you want to create and how participants are assigned to groups:
- Automatic: Randomly evenly divide participants into groups
- Manually: The lecturer chooses which of the participants belongs to which group
3. Click “Create Breakout Rooms“.
Groups will be created, but not activated automatically. You can make changes and edit to groups as described below.
Group settings and editing:
- After you create the groups, click Options for additional options.
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2. Check all the options you want for your groups:
- Automatically move all participants to groups. This option instantly moves everyone into the groups. If this option is unchecked, participants will need to click Join to switch to the group.
- You can return to the general meeting at any time. If this option is not checked, participants cannot leave the groups back to the general meeting until the host (lecturer) returns them.
- Automatically close groups after a predetermined time.
- Receive an update to the instructor when the predefined duration of work in groups has ended.
- A countdown after groups are closed allows participants to see how much time they have left in the groups before returning to the general session.
Manage your groups:
If a participant did not join his group for any reason – a message Not Joined will appear next to his name.
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- Join: Click to join this group.
- Leave: Click to return to the general meeting (displayed only when in a group).
- Close all Rooms: Closes all teams after 60 seconds and returns everyone to the general session.
Asking for help:
Group members can request the instructor’s help by clicking Ask for Help.
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The host (lecturer) will be notified of the request and will be able to join the group.
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Broadcast a message to all groups:
A message can be broadcast to be displayed at once in all active groups for the purpose of conveying a general message.
Click Breakout Rooms in the bottom bar.
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Click Broadcast a message to all in the bottom right. Enter your message and send.
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The message will be displayed to everyone within the groups.
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The screenshots in this guide were taken from the official ZOOM guide here https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206476313.