Use breakout rooms to break students into small groups during class meetings. You can open and close rooms more than once during a session or move participants between rooms. Only meeting organizers using the desktop versions of Teams (Windows or Mac) can create and manage breakout rooms.
Notes:
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Organizing a meeting with breakout rooms is currently only available in the Teams for Education desktop app for Windows or Mac. Make sure you have updated to the latest version.
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Participants can join breakout rooms from Windows, Mac, mobile, or web browsers including Edge, Chrome, and others. On mobile, check to see that you have the minimum build required to run this feature by tapping Settings > About. Learn how to update to the latest version.
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Minimum desktop app version (Windows or Mac): 1.3.00.24755
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Minimum iOS build: 1.0.77.2020100603
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Minimum Android build: 1.0.0.2020091301
Before you get started, make sure you have the desktop app
You can create meetings in any version of Teams, but you'll need Teams for Windows or Mac to create breakout rooms for your students. Students can join from any version of Teams.
Next, schedule a meeting or Meet now
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Select Calendar
> + New meeting. You must be the meeting organizer in order to create and manage breakout rooms.
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Choose a channel to meet in or add students from your class as attendees.
Note that any meeting options you select before or during your meeting will apply to meetings with breakout rooms as well. Learn more about Meeting options.
Important: These features are not currently supported in breakout rooms:
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Using Meet now from a channel conversation
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Call me
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Copying the room meeting link
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Adding a guest to meeting or meeting chat
Create breakout rooms
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Join your meeting at its scheduled time and wait for your students to join. Your meeting will open in its own window.
Important: Make sure you join your meeting from the Teams desktop app (Windows or Mac) so you can create breakout rooms.
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When your students have joined and you are ready, select Breakout rooms from your meeting controls.
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Choose how many rooms you'd like to create from the dropdown.
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Choose whether you'd like Teams to assign students to rooms Automatically or Manually if you'd prefer to assign students to rooms yourself.
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Select Create Rooms.
Assign participants to rooms
If you chose Automatically, participants will already be assigned to different breakout rooms.
To manually add participants to rooms:
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Select Assign participants.
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Choose the students who will share a breakout room by selecting the checkboxes next to their names.
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Select Assign and then select a room for those students.
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Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the whole class has been assigned to a room.
Rename rooms
Name your breakout rooms to reflect small student groups or projects.
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Select More options
next to the room, then Rename room.
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Type in the new name and select Rename room.
Start breakout rooms
To start rooms individually:
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Select More options
next to the room, then Open room.
To start rooms all at once:
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Select Start rooms.
You'll know rooms have successfully opened when their status changes to Open.
Join a breakout room
To join a room and check on its progress:
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Select More options
next to the room, then Join room.
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Select Return when you're ready to leave the breakout room and return to the main meeting.
Send an announcement to breakout rooms
Once breakout rooms have started, send announcements to give time updates or share prompts.
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Select More options
> Make an announcement.
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Type in your announcement and then select Send.
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Students will receive a notification in their meeting chat to check for your announcement.
Reassign participants
Move participants to different breakout rooms individually.
Note: Currently, you can only move participants when breakout rooms are closed.
To move participants individually:
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Expand the list of participants under a breakout room.
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Hover over a student's name and select the checkbox that appears.
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Select More options
and then the breakout room you'd like to move the student to.
Chat with participants in a breakout room
Each breakout room will have its own chat. You and students will be able to access it from your chats list and from Chat in the breakout room, just like regular meetings.
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Students will only be added to a breakout room chat when you start the room. They will be removed as soon as the room is closed.
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You will have access to all breakout room chats.
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Students can still see the chat history and any files shared after the breakout room is closed.
Add or delete a breakout room
To add an additional breakout room:
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Select Add room. Give your new room a name and confirm.
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Add participants to the room using the instructions above.
To delete a breakout room:
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Select More options
next to the room, then Delete room.
Close breakout rooms
To close rooms individually:
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Select More options
next to the room, then Close room.
To close rooms all at once:
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Select Close rooms.
You'll know rooms have successfully closed when their status changes to Closed.
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Select Resume when everyone is back from their breakout rooms and you're ready to meet as a larger group again.
Save files, recordings, and notes from breakout rooms
Files, recordings, and notes from a breakout room can be accessed in its chat. You and your students will be able to access these materials after the room has closed, but students will not be able to chat or add additional materials.
Edit breakout room settings
To edit settings, select More options > Rooms settings.
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Automatic room setting
By default, breakout rooms will be set to automatically move students into opened rooms. If you'd like to change this setting, switch the toggle for Automatically move people into opened rooms to off.
When the automatic setting is turned off, students will receive a message asking them to join a breakout room. They will need to select Join room before being moved.
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Allow students to return to main meeting
By default, this setting will be off. To turn it on, switch the toggle next to Participants can return to the main meeting to on.
This will allow students to leave their breakout rooms and return to the original meeting to rejoin the larger discussion.
Recreate rooms from scratch
Return to the beginning of the breakout rooms process to start over and reconfigure your rooms and assignments.
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Select More options
> Recreate rooms.
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Follow the steps to create new breakout rooms and assign students.
First, join a class meeting
You can join breakout rooms from Teams on Windows, Mac, mobile, or web browsers including Edge, Chrome, and others.
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Navigate to Calendar
in your app bar.
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Find the class meeting and open it, then select Join.
Note: Only meeting organizers can create breakout rooms.
Join a breakout room
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By default, you'll be moved into your assigned breakout room as soon as your instructor opens the room. No action is required on your part.
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If your instructor has turned off the automatic setting, you'll receive a message notifying you of the open breakout room. Select Join Room on desktop or Join on mobile to join the room.
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If you're joining from your mobile device, do not navigate away from the meeting while your instructor is setting up rooms.
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You'll also receive notifications to rejoin the main meeting or if you are moved into another room.
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If you need to switch devices during the meeting or join with two devices, you'll still stay in the correct breakout room.
Chat in a breakout room
Each breakout room will have its own chat. You'll be able to access it from your chats list and from Chat in the breakout room.
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You will be added to a breakout room chat when your instructor starts the room. You'll be removed from the chat when the room is closed.
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You can still see the chat history and any files shared after the breakout room is closed, including meeting recordings.
Return to the main meeting
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If your instructor has enabled it, select Return to rejoin the main meeting discussion.
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Head back to your breakout room by selecting Join room.