Welcome to our latest blog post where we'll be diving deep into the world of virtual collaboration - more specifically, the use of breakout rooms. As more and more of us find ourselves engaged in online learning, mastering the art of digital communication has never been more crucial. Whether you're a business professional, an educator, or a student, you'll find that breakout rooms are becoming an integral part of the online communication landscape. In this article, we will explore all there is to know about these virtual spaces, including their benefits, how to use them effectively, and tips for best practices. Stay tuned!
What is a Breakout room?
A breakout room is a separate online space designed to facilitate group interaction during webinars, lessons or meetings. It's often used for smaller meetings or as an overflow area in case the main event becomes overcrowded. The point of these rooms is to provide some privacy and comfort so that attendees can relax before returning back to the larger group. Breakout rooms are also great for hosting presentations, workshops, and other activities related to the conference or meeting.
What are some benefits of Breakout rooms?
There are many benefits of breakout rooms, especially for larger events or conferences where people need a space that is dedicated to having small group discussions. What's great about them is that they allow participants the opportunity to actively take part in sessions and generate ideas. What's also beneficial is that these spaces give smaller groups privacy so they feel like they can openly discuss things without worrying about judgment or outside interference. What's great is that breakout rooms allow for increased collaboration and better work-life balance because the space makes it easier to be productive, even when you're away from your office.
What many people find helpful with virtual breakout rooms is the ability to share screens and documents while collaborating on a project or initiative. It allows participants to feel like they're actively involved in the conversation and that their work matters. What is important here, though, is to make sure everyone has access to these resources so nothing falls through the cracks because of technical issues or lack of sharing permissions.
What's also great is that breakout rooms help to increase productivity and engagement among employees because they feel like their work matters.
How can a Breakout room be used?
Breakout rooms are typically found in conference settings where they provide an area for participants to have discussions or work on projects that would be too disruptive in the main meeting space. They are also used by companies as part of their onboarding process to introduce new employees to company culture and values. They can also be used as training areas for staff who need specialized instruction on products or services offered by the organization.
When to use Breakout rooms:
- If you are leading a lesson, divide the students up into groups so that each group worksindependently on a given task.
- When having a meeting at work, divide your coworkers into interdisciplinary groups and ask them to conduct a brainstorm ideas or work together on a new project.
- During a business conference, use breakout rooms to facilitate networking between participants.
- If you’re recruiting new team members, utilize breakout rooms as part of the recruitment process to see what candidates do while working in smaller teams.
LiveWebinar offers an advanced, yet easy to use feature of breakout rooms, which provides an excellent opportunity for facilitating smaller group discussions to cater for all the above mentioned needs and purposes. These separate "rooms" within the platform are ideal for both educational and corporate settings. Undoubtedly, breakout rooms have proved to be an effective way of enhancing engagement and productivity in virtual meetings and webinars. This facility allows for splitting your attendees into groups or pairs and directing them to collaborate in distinct spaces. There is no requirement to completely exit the main meeting or juggle between tabs, as the breakout room option is conveniently available within the webinar itself.
Creating Breakout rooms with LiveWebinar
It may seem obvious, but before you create your breakout room for participants or attendees to use, it's important to choose the best webinar platform that offers the function of Breakout rooms. LiveWebinar lets you create Breakout rooms easily and quickly. Here are some handy possibilities offered by the platform:
#1. Flexibility
Empowering you with extreme flexibility, LiveWebinar allows you to adjust the functionality to match your distinct requirements. Breakout rooms, one of the most extremely useful features offered, are unlimited in number (You can adjust their number by purchasing Add-ons). This means you can conduct as many small group discussions as you need concurrently, scaling up your webinar's potential for efficient brainstorming and group-based activities.
Adding to the feature's appeal is the option to record the sessions within breakout rooms. This functionality comes in handy when you want to capture insights from individual discussions, document progressive ideas shared, review the recorded interaction later for reference, or perhaps share your learnings with those who could not make it to the live discussion.
#2. Customizable layout
But breakout rooms are not only about creating spaces for discussion, they are about giving you the reigns to your webinar's structure and format. Alongside the power to decide how many rooms you need, you can also modify their layout. This means that with LiveWebinar you can shape and structure each room in a way that best suits your attendees and the nature of your discussions, ensuring optimum interaction and efficiency.
#3. Easy attendee assigning
If you prefer a touch of spontaneity or wish to promote a mix of perspectives, we've got you covered there, too. With a simple click on the “Randomize” option, you can assign your attendees to rooms in a random order. It not only brings a sense of anticipation but also encourages networking, broadens view-points, and lets participants engage with different people each time.
In essence, the breakout room feature in LiveWebinar offers you endless possibilities to transform your webinar into an engaging, interactive, and extremely productive experience. So why wait? Start exploring!
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How to set up a Breakout room at LiveWebinar?
This is very simple. Stepping into your webinar room, the first thing you need to do is locate the option for breakout rooms in the left-side menu. Once you click on the breakout rooms option, a window will open labeled 'Breakout Room.' Here's where you'll see a list of all the participants currently in your webinar. To start assigning these attendees to different breakout rooms, simply click on the name of the participant that you want to allocate to a specific room.
Adding an attendee to a breakout room is incredibly easy, thanks to the platform's intuitive drag-and-drop feature. All you have to do is drag the participant's name and drop it into the desired room. This user-friendly procedure makes the entire process quick and hassle-free, allowing you to create breakout rooms in no time, without any need for technical proficiency.
There might be instances where a user joins the webinar while breakout room sessions are already in progress. Don't worry! As the host, you are still able to assign them to a room. The handy "Manage" button comes to the rescue in such situations. It navigates you back to the breakout room window, where you can manually assign the new attendee to a room.
Once all the attendees have been assigned to their respective breakout rooms, you are all set to start the sessions. Simply click the button to start a session in breakout rooms, and let the fruitful discussions begin! The easy-to-use breakout room feature can transform your webinars into a more dynamic and interactive space, enhancing the overall participant experience and engagement. Learn more here.
You can also read our FAQ for more information.