What is a Breakout Room and how do I create one?

 

A breakout room has the same features as the main room and can be used to facilitate small group activities or private meetings. Breakout rooms have their own private audio, whiteboard, application sharing, video, polling, etc. What is said or viewed in a breakout room will not be captured in a recording.

Moderators can create breakout rooms any time during the session and move participants between rooms. There is no limit on the number of breakout rooms or the number of participants in each room.

 

Creating Private Breakout Rooms

Private breakout rooms can be created at any time but must have someone in the room at all times. Participants and moderators can easily be moved in and out of the room. When the last moderator or participant is moved out of the private breakout room, the breakout room will automatically close.

To create a private breakout room:

1. In the Participants window, click on the names of participants you wish to move to a breakout room. Hold down your Shift or Ctrl (Command) key to select multiple participants.
2. Right-click (Control+Click) and select Send to Breakout Room and then select New Private Breakout Room from the context menu. Alternatively, this option is also available from the Tools > Breakout Rooms > Send to Breakout Room > New Private Breakout Room.
   
   
3. A new private breakout room will automatically be created.
   
   The Participants window will be updated displaying the name of the private breakout room and the participants in that room. The naming convention for a private breakout room is Private Room (1), Private Room (2), Private Room (3), etc.
   
   

Creating Public Breakout Rooms

Public breakout rooms can be created at any time and participants and moderators can easily be moved in and out of the room. The advantage to creating a public breakout room versus a private breakout room is that a public breakout room does not require any participants in the room. This means that you can create the room, load content for the participants to collaborate on and then during the session move participants into the room. When all the participants and moderators are moved out of the public breakout room, the breakout room and its contents will still remain (unlike a private breakout room which closes when no one is left in the room), allowing you to use the room and content again.

To create a public Breakout Room:

1. In the Participants window right click anywhere in the window (press the Control key) and select Create Breakout Room… from the context menu or alternatively, go to Tools > Breakout Rooms > Create Breakout Room...
   
   
2. The New Breakout Room dialog box appears.
   
   
3. Enter a name for the breakout room and click OK.
4. The Participants window will be updated displaying the name of the breakout room.
   
   

Closing a Breakout Room

A private breakout room will automatically close when all of the participants and moderators are removed from that room. A public breakout room must be manually closed. When you close any breakout room, the participants and moderators are returned to the Main room.

To close either a private or public breakout room

1. In the Participants window, highlight the breakout rooms you wish to close. You may close more than one at a time.
2. Right-click (Control+Click) and select the option Close Breakout Room from the context menu. Alternatively, go to Tools > Breakout Rooms > Close Breakout Room
3. All the participants and moderators will be moved back into the Main room and the breakout room will disappear from the Participants window.