ZOOM

104
Managing Breakout Rooms

CFC DIGITAL JOURNEY TEAM 2021

Table of
Contents

01 Preparing Breakout Rooms

02 Managing Live Breakout

Rooms

03 Alternative to Zoom
Breakout Rooms
 ZOOM BREAKOUT ROOMS
DEFINITION
Breakout rooms are private sessions that are split off
from your main Zoom meeting. The host of the main
session can select participants to allocate into various
breakout rooms.
Divide your main Zoom meeting into separate sessions,
and then bring these small groups back together to
resume the larger group meeting.

BENEFITS
- Participants can have smaller group discussions,
completely separated from the main meeting session.
- Each participant has full video, audio, and screen
share capabilities.
- Anyone with a Zoom account can participate in
breakout rooms for free by signing in to their profile and
enabling the feature.
- You can then group individuals into up to 50 separate
sessions at a time, either manually or automatically —
and even switch participants between sessions.

Note: Breakout rooms can only be created if you are using a Zoom
desktop client. You can’t create or manage a breakout room via your
mobile, but you can still join them.

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 HOW TO CREATE ZOOM
BREAKOUT ROOMS
A. HOW TO ENABLE BREAKOUT ROOMS USING THE
ZOOM DESKTOP CLIENT (MAC AND PC)
The breakout room feature is one of Zoom’s more unique
features as Microsoft Teams and Google Meet still don’t offer
this option.

But before you can create Zoom breakout rooms as a host, you
must enable the feature from the Zoom desktop.

Follow these steps to enable Zoom breakout rooms:

Step 1: Sign in to your Zoom account via the website

zoom.us. Ensure that you’re signing in to the website and
not the mobile app.

Step 2: Click on “My Account” in the top-right corner.

Step 3: In the left sidebar, under the heading “Personal,”

click either “Settings” or “Account Settings”. (Some versions
of Zoom have “Settings” while others have “Account
Settings.”)

Step 4: On the meeting tab, navigate to the Breakout Room

option and confirm that this setting is enabled. If it’s
disabled, click the toggle to enable breakout rooms. A
verification dialog may be displayed, choose “Turn On” to
verify the change.

Step 5: Click on the toggle button, and enable breakout

rooms.

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 HOW TO CREATE ZOOM
BREAKOUT ROOMS
B. HOW TO CREATE BREAKOUT ROOMS IN
YOUR ZOOM CALL

Here are the steps to create breakout rooms whenever you

host a main meeting:

Step 1: On your Mac or PC, log in to the Zoom app.

Step 2: To schedule a meeting, you can select either

“Schedule” or “New Meeting”.

Remember, you will need to be the host in order to create

breakout rooms.

Step 3: When the Zoom session begins, click the Breakout

Rooms icon in the bottom toolbar.

Step 4: Choose whether you want Zoom to sort your

breakout room participants into the number of rooms you
select automatically. Alternatively, you can sort
participants into rooms manually during your main Zoom
meeting.

Step 5: Once you’ve chosen the desired setting (automatic

or manual), click the button that says “Create Rooms”.

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 HOW TO CREATE ZOOM
BREAKOUT ROOMS
C. HOW TO PRE-ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS

It is quite simple to manually assign participants to

breakout rooms during an active Zoom call when the
group is smaller.

But when you are trying to assign a bigger group of people

to specific rooms (for example, when you need to assign
students for a university lecture), it can become
challenging and time-consuming.
For this reason, Zoom has a CSV File Import feature.
So, you can either assign students (or any participant)
manually or use the CSV file import feature.

METHOD 1: PRE-ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS MANUALLY

If you are going to assign participants to breakout
rooms manually, you’ll have to move breakout room
participants from the main meeting room.

METHOD 2: ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS USING

CSV FILE IMPORT
Rather than doing it manually, there is an easier
option for creating pre-assigned participants.

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 HOW TO CREATE ZOOM
BREAKOUT ROOMS
C. HOW TO PRE-ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS
METHOD 1: PRE-ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS MANUALLY

Step 1: Ensure that you are signed in to the web portal with
your username and password.

Step 2: Click the “Meetings” tab and then click “Schedule a

meeting”.

Step 3: Go to the Meeting Option section and choose

“Breakout Room pre assign” and click on “Create Rooms”.

Step 4: Next to “Rooms”, click on the “+” to add rooms.

Step 5: When you hover over the default breakout room

name, a pencil icon will appear. Click on the pencil to
rename the breakout room.

Step 6: For breakout room assignment, you can search for

the person’s name or email address to assign them to the
breakout room. This will be in the “Add participants” text
box.

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 HOW TO CREATE ZOOM
BREAKOUT ROOMS
C. HOW TO PRE-ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS
METHOD 2: ASSIGN PARTICIPANTS USING
CSV FILE IMPORT
Step 1: Sign in to the Zoom web portal.

Step 2: Click on the “Meetings” tab and schedule a

meeting.

Step 3: In the “Meeting Options” section, select “Breakout

Room Pre Assign” and click “Import from CSV”.

Step 4: Click download for a sample CSV file that you can
fill out. Step 5: Open the CSV file. You can use Microsoft
Excel or similar spreadsheet software.

Step 6: Fill in the “Pre Assign Room Name” column with the
name you want for the breakout room.

Step 7: Fill out the “Email Address” column with the

assigned participant’s email address.

Step 8: Save the completed file.

Step 9: Drag and drop the file in the Zoom web portal.

Zoom will verify that the participant whose email address

was entered has a Zoom account.

Keep in mind that the maximum number of participants in

your CSV file is 200.

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8
THINGS TO KEEP IN
MIND FOR ZOOM
BREAKOUT ROOM
SUCCESS
1. Plan the details beforehand.
Ask yourself:
How many breakout rooms do I need?
How many participants should each room have?
Most importantly, should I manually assign participants
to rooms or allow Zoom to do this randomly for me?
You can also allow participants to choose a different
room.

2. You can start a whiteboard Zoom session in

Breakout Rooms. This will allow participants to view
and annotate within the assigned room.

3. As the meeting host, you can create up to 50

breakout sessions in a central Zoom meeting room.

4. As a Zoom user client if you plan on making use

of breakout rooms, there are some limitations you
need to keep in mind.

The number of breakout rooms and participants is

limited to:
For 20 rooms: maximum of 500 participants per room.
For 30 rooms: maximum of 400 participants per room.
For 50 rooms: maximum of 200 participants per room.

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8
THINGS TO KEEP IN
MIND FOR ZOOM
BREAKOUT ROOM
SUCCESS
5. During a breakout room session, in the event that
a participant needs the meeting host to join their
meeting, they can click on “Ask for Help”.
The host will then be prompted to “Join Breakout Room”
in the notification pop-up. They can click on it to join
the Zoom session.

6. To manage breakout rooms, you need to have

the latest version of the Zoom app.

7. Zoom mobile app users can’t manage breakout

rooms.
While you can still join and participate in a breakout
room from your mobile phone, you will not be able to
create or manage one.

8. A co-host’s breakout session will begin in the

room they’ve been assigned to by the host.
Thereafter the co-host can enter and leave rooms
freely, at any time.

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 MANAGING BREAKOUT
ROOMS
Breakout rooms allow you to split your Zoom meeting
in up to 50 separate sessions. The meeting host or co-
host can choose to split the participants of the
meeting into these separate sessions automatically or
manually, or they can allow participants to select and
enter breakout sessions as they please. The host or
co-host can switch between sessions at any time.

Note:
Make sure to enable breakout rooms.
You can also pre-assign participants to breakout
rooms when you schedule the meeting instead of
managing them during the meeting.
Breakout room participants will have the same
audio, video, and screen share capabilities as
allowed in the main session.
Take note of the limitations of breakout rooms.

PAGE 13
MANAGING BREAKOUT
ROOMS
PREREQUISITES
Breakout rooms enabled
Zoom desktop client, or web client
Windows: 3.5.31087.1102 or higher
macOS: 3.5.31087.1102 or higher
Linux: 2.0.81497.1116 or higher
Chrome: 2.4.943.510 or higher
Self-select breakout rooms:
Desktop client or mobile app: version 5.3.0 or
higher.
ChromeOS: version 5.0.0 (4241.1207) or higher
Full co-host control over breakout rooms:
Desktop client for Windows, macOS, or Linux,
version 5.4.6 or higher
Note: Both host and co-host must be on
version 5.4.6 or higher for this feature.
Share screen to all breakout rooms:
Desktop client for Windows, macOS, or Linux,
version 5.7.0 or higher (hosts, co-hosts, and
breakout room participants)

PAGE 14
 MANAGING BREAKOUT
ROOMS
LIMITATIONS
By default, only the host or co-host can assign
participants to breakout rooms. They can choose to
allow participants to choose their own room, but this
must be done in the meeting when launching the
breakout rooms.

While both the host and any co-hosts have the ability
to assign participants to breakout rooms, only the first
submitted set of assignments will be accepted upon
clicking Open All Rooms.

Users joined into the Zoom meeting from the Zoom

Mobile App or H.323/SIP devices can participate in
breakout rooms, but cannot manage them.

If the meeting is being cloud recorded, it will only

record the main room, regardless of what room the
meeting host is in. If local recording is being used, it
will record the room the participant who is recording is
in. Multiple participants can record locally.
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 MANAGING BREAKOUT
ROOMS
LIMITATIONS
You can create up to 50 breakout rooms. The
maximum number of participants in a single breakout
room depends on the meeting capacity, number of
breakout rooms created, and if participants are
assigned during the meeting or before the meeting.

These numbers only apply to breakout rooms created

during a meeting. Up to 200 participants can be pre-
assigned to breakout rooms.

*The maximum capacities listed require a Large

Meeting add-on. If you do not have a Large Meeting
add-on, the maximum number of participants is
limited by your meeting capacity.
Note: Zoom Support can increase the maximum capacity of your account's Breakout
Rooms to allow up to 100 breakout rooms, with a maximum capacity of 1000 per
breakout room (depending on account limits). This requires ALL participants to be
on Zoom client version 5.2 or higher - anyone joining a meeting on your account
who does not have Zoom client version 5.2 or higher will be required to update to
join the meeting. If your users do not have administrative control of their computers,
this will require assistance from your IT Department to update the client.

PAGE 16
 CREATING BREAKOUT
ROOMS
Note: You can also pre-assign participants to
breakout rooms when you schedule the meeting
instead of managing them during the meeting.

1. Start an instant or scheduled meeting.

2. Click Breakout Rooms .
3. Select the number of rooms you would like to
create, and how you would like to assign your
participants to those rooms:
a. Automatically: Let Zoom split your
participants up evenly into each of the
rooms.
b. Manually: Choose which participants you
would like in each room.
c. Let participants choose room: Participants
can select and enter rooms on their own.
4. Click Create Breakout Rooms.
5. Your rooms will be created, but will not start
automatically. You can manage the rooms
prior to starting them by following the
instructions below.

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 OPTIONS FOR
BREAKOUT ROOMS
1. After creating the breakout rooms, click Options
(on Windows) or the gear icon (on macOS) to
view additional breakout rooms options.
2. Check any options that you would like to use for
your breakout rooms.
a. Allow participants to choose room:
Participants can select and enter rooms on
their own once rooms are launched.
b. Allow participants to return to the main
session at any time: If this option is checked,
the participants can move back to the main
session from their meeting controls. If this is
disabled, they need to wait for the host or co-
host to end the breakout rooms.
c. Automatically move all assigned participants
into breakout rooms: Checking this option will
move all participants into the breakout rooms
automatically. If this option is unchecked, the
participants will need to click Join to be added
to the breakout room.
d. Auto close breakout rooms after () minutes:
If this option is checked, the breakout rooms will
automatically end after the configured time.
i. Notify me when the time is up: If this option
is checked, the host and co-hosts will be
notified when the breakout room time is up.

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 OPTIONS FOR
BREAKOUT ROOMS
e. Set Countdown timer: If this option is
checked, the participants will be given a
countdown of how much time they have left
before being returned to the main room.
3. Follow the steps below to assign participants to
rooms or click Open All Rooms to start the breakout
rooms.

ASSIGNING
PARTICIPANTS TO
ROOMS
To assign participants to your rooms, select Assign next
to the room you wish to assign participants to and
select the participants you want to assign to that room.
Repeat this for each room.

Once a participant has been assigned (manually or

automatically), the number of participants will show in
place of the Assign button.

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 PREPARING BREAKOUT
ROOMS
After manually or automatically assigning
participants to rooms, you can rearrange the
participants. Participants who are not assigned to
breakout sessions will remain in the main meeting
when the rooms are started. Hover over the
participant or room for these options:

Move to (participant): Select a room to move the

participant to.
Exchange (participant): Select a participant in
another room to swap the selected participant
with.
Delete Room: Delete the selected room.
Recreate:
Recreate all Rooms: Deletes existing breakout
rooms and allows the host/co-host to create
new ones.
Recover to pre-assigned rooms: Recreate the
breakout rooms with the pre-assigned
arrangement. This is only available if using the
pre-assign breakout rooms feature.

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PREPARING BREAKOUT
ROOMS

Add a Room: Add another breakout room.

Open All Rooms: Start the rooms. All assigned

participants will be moved to their respective
rooms after confirming the prompt to join the
breakout room. If allowing participants to choose
their own room, they can open the list of rooms
and choose which to join. The host, or co-host
that launched the breakouts and the original host,
will be left in the main meeting until manually
joining one of the rooms. The participants (and
the host/co-host when manually joining a room)
will see the following message shown when joining
the breakout room.

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 MANAGING BREAKOUT
ROOMS IN PROGRESS
Once the breakout rooms have been started, the
assigned participants will be asked to join the Breakout
Session. The host, or co-host that launched the
breakouts and the original host, will stay in the main
meeting until joining a session manually. If a participant
has not joined the session yet, it will be noted by (not
joined) next to their name. You can click these options
in the breakout rooms window:

·Join: Join the breakout room.

·Leave: Leave the room and return to the main
meeting (only shows when in a breakout room).
·Close All Rooms: Stops all rooms after a 60 second
countdown, which is shown to the host, co-hosts,
and participants, and returns all participants back
to the main meeting.

Responding to requests for help

Participants in breakout rooms can request that the

meeting host join their meeting by clicking Ask for Help.

You will be prompted to join the room where the

request originated from. Click Join Breakout Room to
join the room.
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 BROADCASTING A
MESSAGE TO ALL
BREAKOUT ROOMS
The host or co-hosts can broadcast a message
to all breakout rooms to share information with all
participants. This can be done from the main
session or from within a breakout room.

1. Click Breakout Rooms in the meeting

controls.
2. Click Broadcast message to all, enter your
message, and click Broadcast.
3. The message will now appear for all
participants in breakout rooms.

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 SHARE SCREEN TO
BREAKOUT ROOMS
Once breakout rooms are open, the host or co-host
can share their screen from the main session
directly into all open breakout rooms. This allows the
presenter to share visual information to all breakout
rooms as once, guiding them on next steps or tasks.

1. Click Share Screen in the meeting

controls.
2. Enable the Share to breakout rooms option
along the bottom of the share window.
3. Choose what you would like to share, including
an entire screen, a specific open program, or
others.
4. Click Share. The selected content will be shared
to all breakout rooms. Any active shares in any
breakout rooms will be interrupted for the
host's/co-host's shared screen. Annotation or
whiteboarding is saved before the host's shared
content is viewed.

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RECORDING WHILE IN A
BREAKOUT ROOM
1. Ask the host for permission to record. The host
needs to allow recording before opening the
breakout rooms. If the host has already open the
breakouts rooms, they can join your breakout room
to allow you to record.

2. Click Record in the meeting controls to start a

local recording.
3. Click the pause or stop icon in the meeting
controls to pause or stop the recording.

The recording can also be stopped or paused by

clicking the indicator in the top left corner.

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 ASKING FOR HELP
If you click Ask for Help, it will notify the meeting host
that you need assistance and they will be asked to join
your breakout room.

1. Click Ask for Help in the meeting controls.

2. Confirm that you would like assistance by clicking
Invite Host.

LEAVING THE BREAKOUT

ROOM
You can leave the breakout room and return to the
main meeting session at any time, or you can leave the
meeting entirely from the breakout room.

1. Click Leave Breakout Room.

2. Choose if you want to leave the breakout room or
the entire meeting.
3. When the host ends the breakout rooms, you will
be notified and given the option to return to the
main room immediately, or in 60 seconds.

PAGE 26
 BREAKOUT ROOM
UPDATES
Same functions in the main room applies in
breakout room.
Breakout rooms now can be set up by a co-host.
Can be manually choose a room or automatic
brought to a room.
Breakout room assignment can be set prior by
uploading a file of email add list as a authenticated
user.
You can create up to 50 breakout rooms.

ALTERNATIVE
APPLICATIONS
MICROSOFT TEAMS
SKYPE
FACEBOOK MESSENGER

PAGE 28
 MICROSOFT TEAMS
Microsoft Teams is the ultimate messaging app for
your organization—a workspace for real-time
collaboration and communication, meetings, file and
app sharing, and even the occasional emoji! All in one
place, all in the open, all accessible to everyone.
Microsoft Teams is a proprietary business
communication platform developed by Microsoft, as
part of the Microsoft 365 family of products.

ITS FEATURES
Teams and channels
Conversations within channels and teams
A chat function
Document storage in SharePoint
Online video calling and screen sharing
Online meetings
Audio conferencing

PAGE 29
 SKYPE
Skype is a proprietary telecommunications. Host a
video or an audio conference with up to 100 people,
record your calls, enable live captions & subtitles or just
simply talk over our smart chat.

ITS FEATURES
Audio and HD Video Calling
Call recording and live subtitle
Smart messaging
Call phones
Screen sharing
Private conversation
Background effects
Send files

PAGE 30
 FACEBOOK
MESSENGER ROOM
Facebook has launched its latest videoconferencing
feature which allows up to 50 people to video chat at a
time. There’s no limit to how long you can talk, and you
don’t even need a Facebook account to join a room.

ITS FEATURES
Supports up to 50 users in a single call.
It allows you to invite users even if they aren’t your
Facebook friends.
No time limit on calls.
Filters for fun AR-based visual effects like bunny
ears.
The ability to share room availability with friends so
they always know when you’re available.
360-degree backgrounds that include a black hole,
a giant ball pit, and more.
Custom room lighting features to help brighten up a
dark feed or customize a room’s lighting color.

PAGE 31
 COMPARISON OF
ALTERNATIVES FOR
ZOOM BREAKOUT
ROOMS

PAGE 32
CREATIVE APPLICATION
IN OUR ONLINE EVENTS
Connecting virtually is becoming the new normal. While
we’re all still in the process of figuring it out, everyday
we’re discovering new ways to interact and get
comfortable with the medium.

A breakout session is a short session where a group of

attendees drawn from a larger conference or
convention gathers based upon their interests to
discuss more practical, day-to-day challenges related
to the conference’s broader theme or topic.

Teaching & Assemblies

Team Meeting
Pray-over (Worship Leader, Speakers)
Christian Life Program
Pray-over Session
Group Discussions
Ministry Conference
Workshops
Hangouts (smaller participants)

PAGE 33
 IMPORTANCE OF
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Breakout sessions are a great method of engaging
attendees in a conference. You can even divide them
into various groups based on their experience and
knowledge. This style of session encourages all
attendees to actively participate and engage with each
rather than passively listening to a presenter
throughout the session in the usual presentation-style
interaction. This helps people communicate with each
other one-on-one, a huge benefit when running an
event online.

May this fuel our eagerness to learn and in maximizing

this God’s given medium.

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