Breakout Sessions in Wimba Annette Gaskins HCPL

What’s a “breakout session? (Answer in chat) Brainstorm:

Objectives Design effective breakout room exercises that maximize collaboration Create instructions for participants to guide them through their activities Create Facilitator guide instructions for Facilitator’s to manage the activities Anticipate the issues involved with participant’s self-management of activities Identify the Producer’s role in supporting breakout exercises

Design effective breakout room exercises that maximize collaboration

Design Not very different from BORs in Face-Face Make it as interactive as possible – when it makes sense to do so Refer to participants’ guide or slide on whiteboard for instructions Don’t assign activities that encourage participants to “go off on their own Ground Rules

Create instructions for participants to guide them through their activities

Instructions Copy of instructions Issue and explain instructions clearly and simply before activity begins Place instructions on whiteboard in the room, and on the participants’ guide

Create Facilitator guide instructions for Facilitator (and producer) to manage the activities

Facilitator’s Guide Refer to template provided Power point is useful to make alternative guides

Anticipate the issues involved with participant’s self- management of activities

Anticipate Issues: Make sure they know what to do Realize that they may not follow directions accurately Make instructions as clear as possible Your specific training may create issues

Identify the Producer’s role in supporting breakout exercises

What is the Producer’s Role?

Producer’s Role

How to Do It:

Objectives At the conclusion of this segment, you will: Be familiar with how breakout sessions work in Wimba Using instructions provided, initiate and conclude a breakout session Using instructions provided, “visit” breakout sessions as a facilitator or producer

Breakout Sessions Online Same as face-face breakout sessions

Field Trip! You will be assigned to a BOR You will be given a small task Your work will be saved You will be returned to the main room Your group’s work will be shared with the rest of the class

Graffiti Exercise – 10 minutes Create a slide filled with graffiti – subject to be provided in your BOR. Select one person to SAVE your slide. Select someone else to load your second graffiti slide. Fill that slide with graffiti as well. Select someone new to save that slide. You will be returned to the main in 10 min.

My favorite Wimba feature is: Instructions: 1. Choose someone to save your slide using the “Save” button in the Whiteboard tools. 2.Choose someone else to load your next slide by clicking your B1.2, or B2.2 where B1=breakout room #1 and.2= slide number 2.

Breakout Rooms in Wimba are: Choose someone to save your slide using the “Save” button in the Whiteboard tools. You will be returned to the main room in 5 minutes.

How to do it: sending participants to breakout rooms 1.Select ‘Breakout Rooms” from the tab at the upper right of your trainer screen.

How to do it: sending participants to breakout rooms You will see this: 2. Select a participant, and “drag” them into another room (drop their name on the name of the breakout room).

How to do it: sending participants to breakout rooms The participant is now in room #2, and may only interact with others in that room. The participant will hear “You have been moved to breakout room (number).”

How to do it: sending participants to breakout rooms 3. “Return” them by clicking/dragging them back to the main room.

Notes You can create more breakout rooms using the button provided on the lower right of your trainer/producer screen. You can “visit” groups by moving yourself in the same manner from room to room.

Using the Whiteboard Place yourself in a breakout room. Select “Content” tab. Select the slide that you want the group to address from your list of slides. The chosen slide and whiteboard tools should appear in the breakout room. (when you leave, the slide stays) Go to the next breakout room and repeat process – with same or different slides.

Changing Slides 1.While in breakout #1 2.Using the content tab 3.Select the slide you want to show the group in that room.

Results:

Recording Breakout Work Save using the whiteboard “save button” Any participant can save and load slides within their own breakout room! Only presenters and producers may load slides to the main room.

Loading Slides in a BOR 1.Find and load the “Current BOR Folder” from the pull-down on the content tab.

2. Select the slide you would like to show (while inside the room where you want to show it). 3. Captured slide should display for everyone in the room. Loading Slides in BOR You are here…

Showing BOR Work After the BOR session: –From the main room, using the “Current BOR Slide” folder, select, as needed, the slide you would like to show –Slide should appear for everyone in the room

Questions? Comments?