Online Breakout Rooms

Overview:

As an organiser, you can create an online breakout room where everyone can potentially enable their microphone and/or camera.

The breakout room has a capacity of 250 participants. 

There are 3 views in the breakout room, as mentioned below.

•  Participant view

•  Speaker View

•  Moderator view - The Moderators have the right to control the mic, camera, and share-screen options for all other users.

In a breakout session, the camera and microphone of speakers and participants can only be activated if the moderator authorizes access. The responsibility for controlling these options lies solely with the moderator. Participants will experience a similar view of the breakout room but won't be able to manage their microphone, camera, or screen share options.

As an organiser, you can also customise the text colour and background of the session room within the session settings.

Moderator view of the Breakout room:

After all participants have joined the session, the moderator can select "Participants" in the top-right corner and modify the settings for a speaker or participant. Following this, they will have the option to enable or disable the microphone, camera, or screen share (as shown in the below screenshot):

Below are the additional settings that are available in the breakout room: 

Breakout Room (Sharing screen with audio)

Step 1: When you click on the share screen button (instead of sharing the entire screen), select share a specific tab

Step 2: Tick the box “Share tab audio” button

Step 3: Click on Share (blue button)

It is recommended to turn off the mic while sharing the screen with audio for best screen sharing experience.

Troubleshooting:

The speaker is using a Mac and cannot share their screen:

• When you first join a meeting on macOS Catalina, you’ll be asked to enable the Screen Recording permission for Google Chrome. When you see the following dialog, click "Open System Preferences".

• If you do not see the dialog above or you are unable to screen share, manually open System Preferences using the Apple menu on the top left of your screen (see below). 

Select “Security & Privacy”

From the Privacy tab select the “Screen Recording” setting from the left-side list. Check the box next to Google Chrome (or the browser you are using Safari/Firefox/Edge etc) to allow screen sharing for your video call/meeting. 

Note - You may need to click the unlock icon in the bottom-left to enable the feature (you may have to enter your computer password).

Next, you may have to click "Quit Now". You will not be able to screen share until you quit and restart Google Chrome.

Rejoin your video call. You should now be able to screen share

If you disable the Screen Recording permission from System Preferences, you'll need to re-enable it again in the future.  

There is an echo when the speaker is speaking:

• Instead of sharing the entire screen, the speaker should select share a specific tab

One or more participants are not seeing video:

• They should switch on/off their camera or refresh the video (inside settings)

One or more participants are listed as “Undefined” in the participant's list.

• This situation may arise when a participant is logged in through multiple devices. It's important to note that the session should only be accessed from one device at a time.

A participant is unable to turn on their mic/camera/share during the session.

• In a Breakout session, a participant can only turn on their camera and microphone if the moderator grants them access. The Moderator is responsible for controlling all these options and maintaining the hygiene of the room.

A participant is unable to join the room/getting kicked out frequently.

• For any such miscellaneous issues, please refer to the following article: Online Meetings - Troubleshooting