Zoom can be an effective tool for teachers to build a sense of community among their students, even when they are not physically together.
For teachers to use Zoom as a community-building platform they can implement collaborative activities:
Teachers can use Zoom's "Breakout Rooms" feature to create small groups for collaborative activities. They can assign students groups based on shared interests or goals or split them up randomly.
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To use Zoom breakout rooms, follow these steps:
- Start your Zoom meeting and click on the “Breakout Rooms” button on the toolbar.
- Choose the number of breakout rooms you want to create and how you want to assign participants to the rooms.
- Click on “Create Breakout Rooms” to create the rooms.
- Once the breakout rooms are created, participants will be automatically assigned to the rooms. You can manually move participants between rooms by clicking on “Participants” and dragging and dropping them to the desired room.
- You can join any of the breakout rooms at any time by clicking on “Join” next to the room name.
- When you are ready to end the breakout rooms, click on “Close All Rooms” and the participants will be automatically brought back to the main meeting room.
- You can also set a timer for the breakout rooms to automatically end after a specified time period. To do this, click on “Options” and select “Breakout Room Options” and then set the timer.
Here are some good practices for Zoom breakout rooms:
- Plan ahead: Decide how many breakout rooms you need and how long each session will be. Assign roles to each facilitator, such as a discussion leader or timekeeper.
- Communicate clear instructions: Make sure everyone knows how to join a breakout room, what they are supposed to do while there, and how much time they have.
- Use icebreakers: Begin each breakout room session with an icebreaker activity to help participants get to know each other and feel more comfortable.
- Assign tasks: Provide clear tasks or questions for each group to discuss, and assign specific roles to each participant to ensure everyone is involved.
- Encourage participation: Ensure that everyone has a chance to speak by asking open-ended questions and inviting quieter participants to share their thoughts.
- Monitor progress: As a host, check in on the groups periodically to see how they are progressing and provide guidance or support as needed.
- Bring everyone back: Once the breakout sessions are complete, bring everyone back together for a group discussion to share key takeaways and insights.
- Debrief: After the breakout rooms have ended, take some time to debrief with participants and gather feedback on how the breakout sessions went.
Positive:
- Supports community building
- Enables small group discussions online
- Breaks up bigger groups
Negative:
- Needs the organiser to have a good understanding of how Zoom Breakout rooms work
- Some groups might be unproductive
- Small groups of strangers can be intimidating