Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms or Groups

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms

Virtual Classroom Breakout rooms allow you to divide any number of participants in your session into smaller groups. Whether you need to give your students an individual exam or have them work on a group assignment, this functionality gives you the possibility to create and customize a separate space for that purpose.

Manage Groups

Groups (also known as breakout rooms) are separate workspaces in the room. Each one has its own separate room elements: video conference connection, online whiteboard, chat, media player, and participant controls – available only for the participants added to the group.

The default group in the Virtual classroom is the Main Group – all participants are automatically added to it.

Only tutors can create new groups and manage the participants in them.

Create a group

In order to create a group, click the “Groups” button on the bottom right side of the screen.

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Location of the Groups button

After that a new window will appear and you will be able to add a new group.

Note: Up to 50 groups can be created.

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Press the Add Groups button in order to initiate the process

A new window will appear in which you can select how many groups you want to be created:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: You can type the number of groups you want to add manually

You have the option to only create the groups or randomly assign the participants in it:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: You can add the desired number of groups or use the "random assisting" option — Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: You can add the desired number of groups or use the “random assisting” option

After you have selected the number of groups you will have to press the green button.

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: To confirm the number of groups you want to add you will have to press the green button

The newly created groups will be displayed here:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Created groups can be seen in this list

The host can join the groups from the Join button:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: The host can switch between the groups via the Join button

The participants in the session can be assigned from here:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Assigning participants can be done manually or randomly

Note: You can use the assign participants randomly option only if the participants are not allocated to any groups prior, or all the groups have been deleted. This option will separate the participants (randomly) based on the number of groups that you have selected.

After the participants are enrolled in their groups you can shuffle them randomly again from the same option:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Additional shuffle can be dome when moving the participants

Alternatively you can manage the participants from the drop-down menu from the three dots here:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Additional group management can be found in this menu

If the participants are assigned to the groups and you want them to go back to the Main group you can again do it from the Manage participants section or alternatively from the “Participants” section where a new button “Reset participants” will appear or from the “Return all participants to Main”:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: You can return all of the participants in two ways

If you choose to assign the participants manually from here,

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Starting the assign manually process can be done from here

a new window will appear that will allow you to assign/move participants between groups.
All of the unassigned participants will be visible on the left side of the menu:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: The available participants will be listed here

Note: Participants who are already assigned to groups won’t be visible in the participants list. They will be visible in the list of the group that they are already assigned to:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Previously assigned participants will be excluded from the list on the left side

In order to move the participants who are already in the group you can select him and there will be an option to move him from the additional pop-up menu:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Example of participant that is about to be moved to a group (2)

Additional settings to create groups, randomly assign, reset, rename, and delete will be available from here:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Additional options in the "Manage participant's in groups" menu — Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Additional options in the “Manage participant’s in groups” menu

After all the changes have been made click on the “Apply changes” button to save them:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Press the "Apply changes" button to confirm your changes — Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Press the “Apply changes” button to confirm your changes

To add new groups click on the “Add Groups” button on the top right side:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Adding a new group can be done via the "Add Groups" button — Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Adding a new group can be done via the “Add Groups” button

In order to see all of the hosts/participants in the group click here:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Information about the number of participants in the group can be seen here

By clicking on the user’s checkbox you will have the option to move them to other groups or start a 1-on-1 group:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Starting a 1 on 1 groups with a participant

By choosing the 1-on-1 option a new group will be created with the name of the user and will automatically reassign the user and the host to the group:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: When 1 to 1 groups is used the name of the group will be same as the participants name

Note: Participants who are allocated to 1:1 groups can return only to the main groups by themselves.

Participants can switch between groups that they are already assigned from here:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: Participants can switch between groups via this button

Video conference connection in groups

When you switch to another group only the people who are currently in the same group can hear and see you.

NOTE: The host can assign participants to a group, but they should switch/come to that group in order to hear or see you because if assigned they will not be automatically be redirected to that group, instead they can go to the desired (assigned by the host) group by themselves.

Permissions and controls in groups

Every group has its own set of permissions.

Note: Some permissions are Global and some are for the Group only.

Switching between several Groups

Switching Groups is easy – just select the group you wish to go to from the Groups list and press the “Join” button. You can exit the current group via the “Exit” button. Just remember that participants can go only to groups that they have been assigned to.

By default, the first group is the Main group. It is created when the room is started.

Note: The Main group cannot be renamed or deleted.

The host can return all participants to the Main group if the “Move all participants to Main” button is clicked:

Virtual Classroom Breakout Rooms: In order to return all participants to the Main group the “Move all participants to Main” button has to be pressed

Online whiteboard in groups

Every group has a separate online whiteboard and the content on it is visible only to the participants who are in that particular group.

Note: If you delete the Group all its content will be lost.

Copy content from one group to another

Select the elements you wish to share in the other group and Copy them.

Then switch to the destined Group and Right-Click -> Paste in Place

Note: Participants can copy or move only their own elements unless they have permission to Edit Objects Created by Others. When granted this permission, they can copy/move any element on the online whiteboard.

Chat in Groups

Every group has its own chat and the content on it is visible only for the participants who are in that group.

Virtual Classroom Breakout rooms: Group chat option — Virtual Classroom Breakout rooms: You can use the group chat if you want to send message(s) to all group members

Removing participants from groups

To remove a participant from the group select the user and click on the “Move to” option to choose what happens to the user.

Virtual Classroom Breakout rooms: Removing a participant from a group

Alternatively, if you delete the group the user will be sent back to the Main group.

Virtual Classroom Breakout rooms: If you delete a group all participant will be returned to the Main group

Rename a group

Renaming a groups is easy, just locate the three dots icon button and press the “Rename group” option. Then just type the new name of your group and press the tick button.

Virtual Classroom Breakout rooms: Virtual Classroom Breakout rooms: Renaming a group option

Delete a Group

You can delete any group, except for the Main one, including all their content and settings.

NOTE: Once you delete a Group, you cannot restore it.

In order for you to delete a group, go to the Groups section, select the desired group, and then press the Delete group button (Recycle Bin icon) next to the group name.