BREAKOUT ROTATION

Description

Using Zoom, participants freely move from one breakout room to another with breakout rooms having different purposes and goals.

Why we like it

In almost all virtual platforms, breakout rooms are controlled by the host or co-host only.  By making everyone co-hosts in Zoom, you allow participants to move in between breakout rooms at their leisure.

Process

This process focuses on Zoom.  For alternatives to Zoom, see the “Tech Tips and Variations” below.

1. Host creates a variety of breakout rooms and gives them names that coincide with each breakout room’s purpose or activity.  Examples:  “Sharing Stories” room, “Q&A” room,” “Whiteboard” room.

2. Participants are instructed to go to each breakout room to participate in each room’s purpose or activity.  Host should ensure each room’s instructions are clear before dismissing participants to breakout rooms.  Keep in mind Zoom’s lack of two-way communication with breakout rooms.  Screen shots of instructions and/or instructions in the chat box (which can be recalled while in breakout rooms) is key.  Host might also create a separate channel for two-way communication (group email, group chat via SMS, etc.).

3. Host makes each participant a co-host.  This is done manually in the Participants box by clicking on the options over each person’s name.  In Zoom, regular participants (a.k.a. attendees) can’t control which breakout room they can join; it is assigned by the host.  Co-hosts can freely move between existing breakout rooms.

4. Dismiss participants (now also co-hosts) to join the breakout rooms they want to join. 

5. Host can remain in the main room to serve as base for questions or treat the main room as a breakout room with a specific purpose.  Alternatively, host can join breakout rooms freely to participant, monitor, or help.

Daisy chain options

Given the infinite number of activities available in different breakout rooms, host might schedule time to debrief in the main room after breakout room sessions are complete.  Allow discussion on what happened and what participants learned.  If processes were completed in each room, allow participants to present their results in the main room.

Tech Tips and Variations

1. This activity focuses on Zoom breakout rooms and making every participant a co-host.  Keep in mind the security and access to Zoom meeting features you are giving each co-host.

2.  Co-hosts in Zoom can move between existing breakout rooms, but they cannot create new rooms.  Only the host can create new rooms.

3. Adding a timer for breakout rooms is a good idea to keep people aware of the schedule.

4. Breakout rooms with more than 5 people become less engaging as too many people need to speak.  Create enough breakout rooms for your total participants and make rules on how many people should be in one room at a time.

5. Breakout room whiteboards and chats don’t save, so consider getting screenshots if activity debriefs require them.

6. An alternative to Zoom is using Remo.co or Airmeet.com.  Remo’s basic service allows 4 people per breakout room (a.k.a. “table”) and has time limits of 1 hour and 15 minutes per event.  Remo can be used in conjunction with other platforms (Zoom, BlueJeans, MS Teams, etc.), and there are sound and microphone considerations to explore before using two platforms at the same time.

7. Other alternatives to this activity include creating completely separate meeting rooms that participants can join.  For example, Adam hosts the main meeting room like normal (Zoom, MS Teams, etc.).  Becky hosts a 2nd separate meeting (not a breakout room ), which would be a completely different Zoom URL, different MS Teams group, etc.  Chris hosts a 3rd separate meeting, etc.  Participants leave one meeting room and join another.  Keep in mind two things:  a) In some platforms like Zoom, there would need to be a permanent host in each different session to keep the meeting room open, to allow people in, etc.  b) Any communication between meetings would need to occur outside of the platform (through direct messaging on phones, through email, etc.).

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