How to manage pre-assigned breakout rooms in Zoom as an instructor?

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Quick Links: | Prerequisites | Instructions | Troubleshooting |

Pre-assigned breakout rooms can help instructors effectively manage large online classes by assigning students to specific groups before the meeting starts. However, if technical issues arise, such as participants not being assigned to the correct rooms, allowing them to choose their own breakout rooms is a best practice. This helps participants resolve issues on their own, reducing the burden on the host. This guide covers how to start a Zoom meeting with pre-assigned breakout rooms and manage participants who may experience issues.

Prerequisites

Before managing pre-assigned breakout rooms, ensure the following:

Step-by-Step Instructions

Before the meeting, remind your students to:

To manage pre-assigned breakout rooms in your Zoom meeting, do the following:

  1. Start your Zoom meeting.
  2. From the Zoom task bar, select Breakout Rooms [1].
  3. Select Options [2] and check Allow Participants to choose room [3]. This allows participants to select their own breakout room if they encounter any issues.
  4. When ready, inform participants you are about to open the breakout rooms and select Open All Rooms [4] to send them to their pre-assigned groups.
    Zoom in-meeting breakout room settings
  5. If any participants arrive late or have trouble, select Recreate, then Recover to pre-assigned breakout rooms. This will help place any late-comers into their assigned rooms.

Troubleshooting

  • Participants are not being assigned to pre-assigned breakout rooms: This usually happens if the participant is not signed in using their Chico State Zoom account or is logged in as a different user. Instruct participants to verify their login credentials by following this guide on verifying they are signed into Zoom using their Chico State account.
  • Participants leave the meeting and rejoin: If a participant leaves the meeting and rejoins, they will not automatically be reassigned to their pre-assigned breakout room. In this case, you will need to manually reassign them using in-meeting breakout room controls.

Still need help? If you run into problems or still need help, reach out to the Technology & Learning Program.

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