This document provides tips for preparing students and instructors for online breakout room activities using platforms like Blackboard Collaborate and Zoom. It recommends: 1) Conducting a practice run to familiarize students with how breakout rooms work before the assigned activity. 2) Providing clear instructions for the breakout activity, such as in a shared Google Doc, and allowing time for student questions. 3) Monitoring student progress using assigned Google Docs for each breakout group and providing time warnings before requiring groups to reconvene.

1. Blackboard Collaborate and Zoom are two examples that provide the
opportunity to move your students to work online in smaller groups within
'breakout rooms'. Below are some practical steps to take to make sure
students are prepared for this type of online activity.
Tips on how to prepare
for online Breakout
Room learning activities
Practice run
Timing
It can be helpful to have a dry run, where the students
can experience what a breakout room is. Once in the
room they can opt to turn on their cameras and will
need to know how to turn on their mic in preparation
for discussing the activity you plan to set them.
You will need to tell your students how long they have to
complete the activity. It's likely that groups may each
work at a different pace. Consider having a bonus
challenge to complete to stretch the students who finish
the set task before the time is up.
2
Clear instructions
Create the instructions for the breakout activity in a
shared Google Doc. Ask the students to access the doc
whilst you are all together, and then explain what they
need to do. This gives time for students to ask you any
questions and also the doc can be referred to by the
students when they are in the breakout room.
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3
Debrief
Record
Once back together in the main room, ask each group for a
volunteer to feedback the main points of the discussion,
answers to questions, ideas generated, or whatever
information you expected them to gather. This could then
lead into a wider discussion/Q&A.
The shared Google Doc can then be saved by the
students, with potential to feed into further
activities.
5
Monitor progress
You can assign a Google Doc for each group to capture
notes from their discussion/answers to questions or
whatever it is that you have asked them to do. By having
these open in different tabs you can see how they are doing.
Needs be you can adjust when to give a 2 minute warning,
prior to bringing them back to the main room.
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Sue Beckingham, Principal Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University.
@suebecks
In class
preparation
Ensure all students can access the master
and group Google Docs (GD)
Go through the breakout activity and
respond to any questions
Establish a volunteer note taker and
person to feedback for each group
Be clear everyone needs to contribute
Where groups are consistent the
working group GD can be used for future
breakout activities
B
Set up a Google Doc (GD) for the
detailed instructions
Set up a GD for each group
transferring the key requirements
/ questions to this working document
and title by group number
Provide the students a link to the GD
and make sure it is set to editable
Choose to manually create groups or
opt for randomly assign
Tutor
preparation
A
Reminders
Further support
Blackboard breakout Groups: https://help.blackboard.com/Collaborate/Ultra/Moderator/Moderate_Sessions/Breakout_groups
Zoom Breakout Rooms: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206476313-Managing-Breakout-Rooms