Zoom: Assign Participants to Breakout Rooms Before a Meeting

Pre-assigning participants to Breakout Rooms is available via the website interface at tennessee.zoom.us and in the Canvas/Zoom integration (if the instructor chooses to schedule the session within the Canvas course). Please keep the following tips in mind when engaging this feature.

In order for the pre-assignment to engage,

  • Participants must create a UT Zoom account at tennessee.zoom.us and sign in before attending the Zoom online classroom.

  • Participant email addresses must be in the format of NetID@tennessee.edu.

In the UT Zoom web interface:

  1. When scheduling a meeting via our UT Zoom page, select the pre-assignment feature within the Options section (select Show to view options).
  2. Choose to Create Rooms at the time, or, access the .CSV file to add info.
  3. Instructors should add participants' email addresses in the NetID@tennessee.edu format, and be sure to save all changes. 
  4. During the meeting, the leader should start the session, select Breakout Rooms, and open all the rooms. Participants who do not join a Breakout Room via the pre-assignment may be moved manually to a room.

An example of the Breakout Rooms pre-assignment option.

In the Canvas/Zoom integration:

With the latest update to the Canvas/Zoom integration, Canvas Groups data can be used to create pre-assigned Breakout Rooms. Create the Canvas Groups first, then schedule the Zoom meeting in the Canvas/Zoom integration.

  1. In the Canvas course, select the Zoom menu item on the top-left.
  2. Choose Schedule a New Meeting.
  3. In the Meeting Options section, add a check by the Breakout Room pre-assign option and create rooms at the time, import data from a .csv, or, choose Import Course Groups.
  4. Be sure to save changes.

An example of the Breakout Rooms pre-assignment option in a Canvas course.

 

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