How to use Breakout Rooms in Microsoft Teams meetings

[@MikeTholfsen]

Watch next ⏩ My playlist on Microsoft Teams meetings quick tips: kzbin.info/aero/PLdHjJccRYryMc_bPsdhWKubx-8xdUSe_p

[@janeteldridge6934]

What an amazing feature. This will make my third grade virtual class so much easier to manage with small group and partner work.

[@MikeTholfsen]

@@janeteldridge6934 Great news! Let me know how it goes

[@emmagreenamerica8310]

Adam Parker Goldberg's performance gave me life this morning!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Agree -my meetings with Adam are the highlight of my week!

[@carinadealmeida8851]

Adam "short shorts" you mean? Hahahahaha.

[@MikeTholfsen]

@@carinadealmeida8851 I misspoke!

[@Haroon-jan.]

@@MikeTholfsen I subscribed and turned on Notifications Your channel is the best

[@MikeTholfsen]

@@Haroon-jan. Woohoo! Thanks 🙏

[@KyleBeimfohr]

Our teachers have been waiting patiently for this new feature. I can't wait to see it show up on our dashboards!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Yes, we are so excited to finally be able to roll this out

[@CodeSynergy]

Yes and this will definitely increase the productivity

[@lauraflynn6720]

Mike this is so clear and concise, thanks for sharing!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Qutypie22]

Great video & the explanation is always so clear! It helps me so much! However, as a 3rd Grade Teacher, it would be fantastic if I had the option to create the same breakout rooms each day w the same pre-populated names in each room, since my students are already assigned to groups. Setting the breakout rooms up each day & manually assigning names into 4 groups is so time consuming. This should've been a feature that was ready with this new release.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad it was helpful. We are looking at adding this capability in 2021

[@lisafrissen6473]

YAYAYAYAYAYAAY! So glad this feature was finally added to Teams!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Agreed!

[@growqueen]

I experienced this in a Teams meeting we were all moved to different rooms and I was like how the hell did they do that. I wasn't looking for this video, but when it popped up I had to watch and now I know how it's done. Thanks 😊

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad this was helpful

[@camilag4243]

This was AMAZING. I loved it and the people in it. Great dynamic. Thank you from Colombia

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad you liked it!

[@CodeSynergy]

Excellent demo. Thank you. Adam is so excited to be moved in another team 😂

[@MikeTholfsen]

It is easy to get Adam excited!

[@AnnKozma723]

Love learning from your videos, Mike!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Thanks for having starring role in this video Ann!

[@christopherj.clement7502]

MAN, this was so helpful. AMAZING WORK.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad to hear it!

[@amandalovestoaudit]

This is fantastic Mike! Will we have the option in the future to allow attendees to self-select the breakout room they want to go to?

[@MikeTholfsen]

We will likely add this type of option in 2021

[@novostibuta]

This will be an extremely handy feature. I also would love to know 🤔

[@kristinavanhoogmoed526]

Ann is adorbs. I love Socal Cue.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Ann Kozma RULZ! 💚

[@rmiddelveld]

Adam is super excited

[@MikeTholfsen]

Adam is awesome!

[@rmiddelveld]

@@MikeTholfsen Can only agree ;) haha

[@tinakaralis5723]

Thank you for the info which was well pre sented and easy to follow!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad it was helpful!

[@maxudi]

Great video! Thank you

[@hatemsoliman4500]

Very useful video, thanks a lot

[@amandamattle5880]

Thanks so much! This gave me the info I needed.^^

[@samanthafecich3468]

YES love these features! Keep 'em comin! Way to go Microsoft TEAMS!

[@MikeTholfsen]

More to come!

[@xcuwsxks_6625]

WOW, so exited for this feature to arrive!!! 🤩 Thanks for sharing this Mike!

[@MikeTholfsen]

You and me both!

[@MeiHarYee]

Wow....great sharing. I love it. thanks.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CollaborationSimplified]

Awesome video Mike!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad you like it!

[@dharam1980]

Another fantastic video! Just had a few questions… 1.When automatically assigning rooms, some of the students get left out, do you know why this might be happening? 2.Is there a way of recording the meeting in breakout room without going into each one individually? 3.Can you confirm all those in a breakout room are automatically presenters?

[@MM88]

Hi Mike, thanks for another great video. Is there any way for a meeting organiser to allow another attendee to control the breakout rooms?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not yet, but this feature will be added in 2021

[@harshulchauhan2507]

Excellent 👌

[@MikeTholfsen]

Thanks a lot 😊

[@rachaelfoust9396]

Thank you - this is a great video. Question - can I create the breakout sessions (w/attendees already assigned to a room) before the meeting? We are planning interviews with over 30 people and might be short on time to create breakouts on the spot.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Unfortunately, you can't set them up before-hand. We hope to add that later in 2021

[@sincerelyagilewithmary2986]

@@MikeTholfsen Is it doable now?

[@ms.wendylbajade7734]

THANK YOU SO MUCH .

[@shekinahrhema1544]

At last its here!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Yaaaaasssss! We are excited too 🚀

[@tchr2all2]

@Mike Two quick Questions: 1. Why isnt there the ability to ADD a co-organizer or Co-Owner to a TEAMS meeting to assist with the management of the Breakout Rooms? As it is right now, even if an ADULT is in the MAIN MEETING as a presenter they are unable to move around the various break out rooms to assist in monitoring. 2. Right now Breakout Room permissions are working opposite of this video.. Presenters in the MAIN room do NOT retain presenter privileges in the breakout. ONLY the organizer has to visit each room and restore their presenter rights. Why is that happening? BTW, YOU ARE AWESOME!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Agree this is a current painful limitation. This is planned for 2021, but I don't have a date yet

[@clairewallace913]

Hi Mike. I've been sharing this great video. Once inside a breakout room, students should be able to record the meeting, right? My students have not been able to do this. I have to visit each room to turn on the recording. They can access everything else. Any ideas?

[@practicingpositivity]

MIke, this is beautifully done! I was a Teams Terror...uh, as in terrified, to use it for my facilitated events. Thanks for such a clear explanation and how to use this great tool! #nomorefear

[@MikeTholfsen]

Thank you! I'll be sure to post new updates when they come out since we are still improving breakout rooms

[@jeremyclay606]

Thanks for the video Mike, really helpful. Can the organiser move someone to a different breakout room once the rooms have started?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Currently you can only move people in breakout rooms after the meeting is closed (or before it starts) More details here: support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-and-manage-breakout-rooms-during-class-meetings-18b340cd-1106-4fa5-a852-5676614f7e7d?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

[@IngridDabringer]

Hey Mike, great video. Thank you. Can you set up these break-out rooms before the meeting starts in meeting options, or somewhere else? Do multiple people have to be logged in in order to set up breakout rooms? Also, How do I assign specific whiteboards to specific groups ahead of a meeting?

[@MikeTholfsen]

You can’t set them up,ahead of time, but we’ll be adding this feature later in 2021. Yes, you need to be logged in. You can’t assign Whiteboards ahead of time

[@cricattaneo4394]

Hi! It's all very clear, one question is ... can only organizer launch breakout sessions? Can an atttendee become organizer? thx

[@MikeTholfsen]

Correct. Attendees can have presenter rights, but we currently don't support co-organizers of meetings for breakout rooms. That feature is coming later in 2021

[@cricattaneo4394]

Thanks! In a meeting, can an attendee become organizer into the room? thx

[@mirmujahed]

Superb👍

[@MikeTholfsen]

Glad you like it!

[@moodberry]

Thanks for this. But when you said you "gathered" all the materials from all the rooms, what did you mean exactly? Did you mean that you were able to see them, or that you actually transferred their files and notes to one central place so that you could review it all later?

[@johnpill1]

Hi Mike, can you 'save' the groups you assign for break out rooms in any way? My classes work on long term projects in the same groups so it would be great to very quickly set those up in most online sessions.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Unfortunately you can’t currently do that

[@mrcraven8318]

Can you pre-populate the breakout rooms before the meeting starts or can you only do this once the meeting has started? That could be annoying in large meetings

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not yet. This update will be coming in 2021

[@mrcraven8318]

@@MikeTholfsen thank you

[@michaelc.pagaduan1638]

Hi Mike! This is great news! :) But I have noticed one thing, the pre-join window (where the settings for camera, audio etc.) goes back to the old one.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Hmmm - that's weird. I wonder if your school is in the midst of getting the new meeting updates and somehow rolling back. You can always file a support ticket at aka.ms/EDUSupport

[@paris.granville]

Is that Melissa McCarthy? Boy do I love this.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Ann is a Melissa McCarthy doppelganger, but way funnier! Check out this tweet from Ann on her Melissa McCarthy likeness: twitter.com/annkozma723/status/1257693091907145728?s=20

[@charlieocallaghan3670]

Hi Mike, Excellent demonstration! Is there any way to make one person not be in the breakout room? I was thinking to make a separate break out room and manually place them into that room? Would that work?

[@MismoMismoMismo]

Hey Mike. I can't see the new breakout feature, which I've been waiting for, for so long! Do I need to activate it somewhere?

[@mcpstechnologyinformations6297]

Be sure to update Teams & then Quit/Restart Teams

[@MikeTholfsen]

Make sure Teams is updated, and it is still rolling out so it might take another day or two

[@musawaleed224]

Hi Mike . Can I fix a leader for each group? Or an organizer.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not yet, but we are looking to add this feature in 2021

[@CrispysCrafts]

Adam is far too excited

[@MikeTholfsen]

Can you blame him? Breakout Rooms are pretty exciting 😂

[@akio6505]

Great! What happens if the organizer left the company or the account has been deleted? Who can now access the breakout rooms?

[@MikeTholfsen]

No one other than the IT Admin

[@mrcraven8318]

Hi Mike, another question for you: If a meeting is being recorded, will the breakout room sessions also automatically be recorded?

[@MikeTholfsen]

No, each room will have to record their own meeting

[@mrcraven8318]

@@MikeTholfsen Thank you - once they are recorded, how do they get stored - are the downloads accessible by the organiser, which Stream feed do they end up on? And also, does the organiser need to go into each group and hit record, or can anyone in the breakout room record them?

[@MikeTholfsen]

@@mrcraven8318 Given the situation with Stream migrating to OneDrive, it will depend on how your school/organization has recording set up. In terms of recording, each group will have to record the meeting separately.

[@mrcraven8318]

@@MikeTholfsen thank you - I really appreciate you taking the time to answer all our questions. Keep up the great work!

[@MikeTholfsen]

@@mrcraven8318 Sure thing!

[@CelebritiesReactTV]

Hi, Mike. Since guests can't be added to the breakout rooms, what is the best way to include them in the meeting? Thank you.

[@MikeTholfsen]

No great way to do this yet

[@michellerobichaud2475]

This is a fantastic video! But, not all the features work the way described, for me. I want my breakout group attendees to be able to access the material they developed in their breakout meeting but they cannot. Is there a setting that I need to change?

[@richardostrander2752]

Can you assign others as an organizer/co-organizer so that they can be moved from one BO to another?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not yet. We hope to add this in 2021

[@Pippokpax]

Great video. Is there a way to create break out rooms, not assign anyone to them, and then allow participants to join whichever room they want to?

[@MikeTholfsen]

You can create the rooms and manually assign, then not assign anyone. But we currently don't support letting people jump into their own rooms. Many other features will be added in early-mid 2021, so stay tuned

[@JD-tp7vn]

Is there an option to upload docs to whiteboard feature for collaborative editing?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not at this time

[@mr.vaillancourt798]

I see that you can view the chats and whiteboards of the breakout rooms after the meeting, but can the organizer see these while the meeting is happening without entering the rooms? So, for example, can a teacher monitor all the chats/whiteboards from outside the rooms or must the organizer enter the rooms individually to view them? Thanks!

[@laddison8408]

Question - once you bring folks back to the main room, can Teams automatically reshuffle them back into rooms creating new members for each room? We want to do something that looks like speed dating which requires new folks to connect each time you reopen the 4 rooms.

[@MikeTholfsen]

We don't currently support this but will later this year

[@sofiaech15]

Hi Mike! Do you know if is it possible to record the every session?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not automatically, but we are looking into this as a future feature

[@simonesiegel]

If someone accidentally leaves the meeting while in a breakout room (ex. computer crashed) and then joins back in, will they be in the main meeting or in their breakout room?

[@rachelcole2020]

Hi! do you have a quickstart guide for breakout rooms?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Does this link help: support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-and-manage-breakout-rooms-during-class-meetings-18b340cd-1106-4fa5-a852-5676614f7e7d?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

[@gdedouss89]

Is there a way to put a time limit on the breakout rooms? For example, can you put a 10 minute time limit for attendees to brainstorm and then after the 10 minutes they automatically get moved back to the main meeting?

[@MikeTholfsen]

We will be adding a time limit option in early 2021. I also mentioned this in the description of this video

[@Taokaili]

Hi Mike, we tried breakout rooms for the first time today. I had some students still get the notification to "join room" after I closed the rooms. Any idea what could make this happen?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Hmm, not sure on that. If you are seeing what you think is a bug, you can file an EDU Support ticket here: aka.ms/EDUSupport

[@garyjones9382]

As an organizer, I visited one of the breakout rooms and the participants could hear me speak but I couldn't hear them. Do I need to adjust a setting so that I can hear them talk in the breakout room? Thanks.

[@amritagill1680]

Can you post a document or link in the room before folks enter it?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not at this time. We will support that feature in 2021

[@luisdebroy6608]

Is it just for education licenses or for any type of Teams license? I can not see the option on my desktop, it is a Business license.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Any type of Teams license. Check the description for the link of this video on how to enable Teams Meeting preview experience. You will need that enabled.

[@luisdebroy6608]

@@MikeTholfsen Thanks!

[@inefierens5377]

Hoi Mike, super dat deze tool er eindelijk is. Samen met een collega geven de via Co teaching les, kunnen we beide organisator zijn van een meeting en deze rooms instellen. ? Heb jij hier tips voor?

[@MikeTholfsen]

We ondersteunen momenteel slechts één organisator voor breakout rooms. We zullen de functie van meerdere organisatoren toevoegen in het eerste deel van 2021

[@mattschaefer7663]

Can I manually assign my students to groups before the meeting starts? Or will it only work with active participants after they have joined?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not yet. We hope to add this feature in 2021

[@ginaturner2240]

After the breakout rooms have started, can a student be moved to a different breakout room?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Moves can only happen after breakout rooms are closed. More details in this article: support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-breakout-rooms-in-teams-meetings-7de1f48a-da07-466c-a5ab-4ebace28e461#bkmk_additionaloptions

[@limike2818]

Mike, this is Mike from China education team, your video is very fantastic, can I share your video to our international school in China?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Sure - share away!

[@limike2818]

@@MikeTholfsen Great, your video are so helpful, Like It very much

[@MikeTholfsen]

@@limike2818 Glad it is helpful

[@chibinator382]

Hi :) can the attendee move from 1 room to other rooms by themselves?

[@MikeTholfsen]

No, the organizer must do it

[@kimpohlei]

Hi Mike - we need to assign the rights to other trainers/presenters (holding a guest account) to assign students to the breakout rooms. Currently only the organiser (1 person only) can do this, which is very taxing for the organiser. can we have this feature to assign the breakout room rights to appointed trainers/presenters(holding guest account) please?

[@Gluosnis9]

I want what Adam is using :)

[@MikeTholfsen]

I think we all do 😂

[@rociocosta6969]

Can I create these rooms in public channels? Does it work in any videoconference??

[@MikeTholfsen]

Yes and yes

[@cricattaneo4394]

Thanks Mike! In a meeting, can an attendee become organizer into the room (for example il organizer has to go away)? thx

[@paconro]

Thank you for your videos, they are very helpful. I have a doubt, because I have started using breakout rooms with my students and when I create rooms and I start the rooms, students are not allowed to share their screen. I tried to change permission before starting breakout rooms in order that everyone could present in the meeting, but I'm the small groups they couldn't. Have I made something wrong or is that a presetting for students? Can I change that behavior? Thanks!

[@MikeTholfsen]

I suggest filing a support ticket at aka.ms/EDUSupport

[@LKGdc]

When I open breakout rooms, all of my students enter as attendees and can't share, etc unless I manually change it in each breakout room. (even if I have them all set as participants in the original meeting) Is there a setting I'm missing somewhere?

[@MikeTholfsen]

You need to manually change if students are default as attendees. Your school IT admin settings might be defaulting all meetings for students to attendee

[@Sally2303]

hey first can I use it in web? if yes, how can I use ? second : Why I can see a room when I use SOFTWARE

[@MikeTholfsen]

Yes, this should work fine in the web

[@MadhuLambu]

We plan to have a 24 hour Hackathon of around 15 groups using Teams and breakout rooms. Will it work?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Yes, that scenario should work!

[@montydam]

If I want to meet with a student individually, can I create just one room where I add one student so I can meet with them? All other students would continue working in the main room.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Yes, you can do that

[@samanthafecich3468]

Can we reuse rooms after each meeting?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Yes, as long as you stay in that meeting. You can't pull in old breakout rooms for a new meeting

[@ninjapersonelmo]

@@MikeTholfsen What if it is the same meeting link? If not, can this be a featured rolled out?

[@vanenkie]

Just a pity whiteboard never works. We almost always just get a black screen and no ways to whiteboard anything

[@MikeTholfsen]

If this is still having problems, you can file an EDU Support ticket at aka.ms/EDUSupport

[@chetanabalaji9261]

New Microsoft Teams Break out option is amazing where all my students are engaging, sharing their ideas in relevant topics for the class discussion. I have recorded their group discussion but Where can't find those video recordings in-stream as well as post Kindly help me to find those. Looking forward to your comment.

[@MikeTholfsen]

It depends on how it IT Admin has set up Stream recording. They might be in your OneDrive now. ‬ If you can’t find it, you can file a support ticket at aka.ms/edusupport‬? Also, here is a short video on using the Microsoft EDU support site to submit a ticket: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHSYn3ied9mjnKM

[@apriltharp1070]

Hi Mike. We are seeing that students are able to return to the main meeting, even though we have not toggled on the room setting option for this. Any suggestions?

[@Steinsk]

Is it possible to share a screen in each breakout room. If so, that could even be an excellent way of controlling students at written exams. One breakout room per student, and they all have to share their screen. (While waiting for a function where you can share multiple screens at the same time.)

[@MikeTholfsen]

Each room has to start its own meeting and screen share. And only people with presenter rights can screen share

[@eithnegarvey3200]

Is this option available on Office 365 or just on the Teams app?

[@MikeTholfsen]

It is part of Teams meetings, which is part of Office 365

[@johnwarricktan]

Is there a way to block the organizer from viewing or entering breakout rooms?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Not at this time

[@johnwarricktan]

@@MikeTholfsen Thanks Mike!

[@MikeTholfsen]

@@johnwarricktan Sure thing

[@johnwarricktan]

​@@MikeTholfsen Quick question, do you know if Breakout rooms is available on mac devices? I have a few colleagues who are unable to see the breakout room button when they are an organizer of the meeting on their macs. They are also running the latest 1.3.00.28778 version of teams.

[@johnwarricktan]

We just found out that we needed to enable the “Turn on new meeting experience” setting in the Teams Desktop App settings to get the breakout rooms option to appear!

[@ivekmartinez]

Thanks

[@jovanmt34]

What is the maximum number of participants in the main room and each breakout room?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Main meeting max is something like 250 or 300. Can’t fully remember the latest

[@jovanmt34]

@@MikeTholfsen thanks for the reply!

[@jadeenglene]

I can only see students first letter - who or where can I ajust the setting to show the full name?

[@sabtyawiraji1985]

Hm, the breakout room did not show up in my Teams UI. FYI I am not the host (not sending the invitation) but help facilitating the meeting

[@geoffennis9941]

I have restarted and closed my teams many times, still don't have the feature.

[@hilarybainbridge8098]

Have you tried looking for updates? Click on your picture and the option should come up. Also, did you close Teams or quit? Right click on the Teams icon to quit rather than close.

[@mcpstechnologyinformations6297]

Are checking for updates (give them time to install), you need to Quit Teams (right-click on Teams icon in taskbar & choose Quit) and then restart.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Make sure to check for Teams updates, and then also it can take another day or two for this to fully roll out

[@amritagill1680]

The chatbox keeps disappearing in the break-out rooms. Why is this happening?

[@MikeTholfsen]

Are the people in the Breakout Rooms “guests”?

[@amritagill1680]

@@MikeTholfsen no they belong to my organization. It’s odd, the chat box only disappeared with my one team at work. With the other team, I had no issues. I couldn’t understand it

[@ez2bcute]

My students aren’t actually being sent the rooms automatically. I am wondering what I am doing wrong.

[@MikeTholfsen]

If you are still seeing this, can you file an EDU Support ticket at aka.ms/EDUSupport

[@ez2bcute]

@@MikeTholfsen Thank you! I think it’s serendipitous because with my 5s it’s better to release the groups one at a time, just to double check they know what they should be doing!

[@swankyshivy]

can i as an attendee join another room on my own? trying to work a solution for virtual work get together/party.

[@leannaclare]

can a presenter arrange breakout rooms?

[@MikeTholfsen]

The main presenter can. Co-presenters can't (yet) This is coming later in 2021

[@star-gaming886]

Are you doing this on the laptop

[@MikeTholfsen]

Yes

[@star-gaming886]

Okay

[@eqisoftcom]

Adam!

[@MikeTholfsen]

Adam is the best!

[@fatihklc4022]

You can add whatever you want as long as you stay away from viewing my desktop during exams

[@martingemmell1401]

Go Adam

[@MikeTholfsen]

Adam rocks!

[@martingemmell1401]

@@MikeTholfsen Adam had the Americano with the extra shot

[@nxqzy]

I'm using 4G, dont have much, could you reply 2 this comment with a summary of what this is about.

[@MikeTholfsen]

This video shows how Breakout Rooms work for Microsoft Teams meetings. This feature just rolled out, and allows the organizer to break the meeting into separate rooms for smaller discussions, etc.

[@nxqzy]

@@MikeTholfsen Ah thanks

[@MikeTholfsen]

@@nxqzy Sure thing

[@DavidJJJ]

There's something wrong with Adam, just saying, 2:55. And 6:07.

[@MikeTholfsen]

Adam is high on life! 🦄

[@star-gaming886]

But now it worked

[@star-gaming886]

It doesn’t work

[@jesse7680]

Adam pantomiming the entire time has me laughin

[@MikeTholfsen]

He's the best!