Including a timer in your Zoom breakout rooms can be a beneficial method for staying organized and sticking to your planned schedule. Whether you’re conducting a virtual workshop, team meeting, or classroom session, utilizing a timer can assist in efficiently managing your breakout room sessions.
As someone who frequently uses Zoom breakout rooms for collaborative activities, I have found that adding a timer can make a significant difference in keeping participants engaged and focused. In this article, I will guide you through the process of adding a timer to your Zoom breakout room sessions.
Step 1: Enable the Timer
To start, you need to enable the timer feature in your Zoom settings. Here’s how:
- Open your Zoom desktop application and sign in to your account.
- Click on the “Settings” gear icon at the top right corner of the screen.
- In the settings window, navigate to the “In Meeting (Basic)” tab.
- Scroll down until you find the “Breakout Room” section.
- Check the box next to “Enable timer for breakout rooms.”
- Click on the “Save” button to apply the changes.
Step 2: Creating Breakout Rooms
After enabling the timer, you can now proceed to create breakout rooms. Here’s how:
- Start a Zoom meeting and click on the “Breakout Rooms” button at the bottom of the screen.
- In the breakout room window, click on the “Options” button located at the bottom right corner.
- Check the box next to “Use my settings for this meeting” if you want to set a specific timer duration for all breakout rooms.
- If you want to assign different timers for each breakout room, uncheck the box mentioned above.
- Enter the desired duration for each breakout room in the “Time Limit” field.
- Click on the “Close” button to save your settings.
Step 3: Starting the Timer
Once you have created your breakout rooms, it’s time to start the timer. Here’s how:
- Click on the “Breakout Rooms” button at the bottom of the screen.
- In the breakout room window, you will see a list of breakout rooms you have created.
- Click on the “Open All Rooms” button to start the breakout sessions.
- A timer will automatically appear at the top right corner of each breakout room window.
- Participants will also see the timer, ensuring they are aware of the remaining time.
Adding a timer to Zoom breakout rooms can help you manage time effectively and keep participants focused on the task at hand. Whether you’re facilitating a brainstorming session or conducting group discussions, the timer feature is a valuable tool.
Conclusion
By following the simple steps outlined in this article, you can easily add a timer to your Zoom breakout rooms. This feature will help you stay organized, keep activities on schedule, and ensure that everyone has a fair amount of time to contribute. Give it a try in your next virtual meeting, and see the positive impact it can have on your breakout room sessions.