What are breakout sessions

When you host a training session in the Webex Training Center, you can set up Breakout Sessions to divide the session attendees into small collaborative groups (Cisco). With breakout sessions, you can encourage collaboration, group discussion, and small group activities by assigning attendees to small groups who can collaborate then return to larger group.

To learn how to create and manage breakout sessions, follow the steps below.

Create a breakout session

Only hosts, panelists, and Training Center presenters can create a breakout session.

Breakout session settings

Before launching breakout sessions, you should use the Classic View Dashboard to customize your Breakout Session Assignments Settings, including:

• Enabling the option to pre-assign attendees to breakout sessions
• Selecting automatic or manual breakout session assignments
• Selecting the number of breakout sessions and number of attendees per session

To customize the Breakout session assignment settings:

1. Log into UMD Webex.
2. From the Classic View Dashboard, click Webex Training.
3. Click Host a Session>Schedule Training.
4. Scroll to the Breakout Session Assignment Settings section.
5. Enable Pre-Session Assignment.
6. Select one of the following settings:
   
   1. Automatically assign attendees during the session
   2. Manually assign registered attendees to breakout sessions.

Automatically assign attendees to sessions

If you choose to have Webex automatically assign attendees, follow the steps below during your training session: 

1. Go to the Breakout Session panel, select Breakout Assignment.
2. Click Automatically.
3. Select the following settings:
   
   1. Number of breakouts sessions. (No more than 100 breakout sessions can be added.)
   2. Number of attendees in each breakout session. (No more than 100 attendees per breakout session can be added.)
4. Click OK.
5. During your training session, start a breakout session. After you start a breakout session, an attendee will be assigned the presenter role randomly in each session. The presenter can start or end the breakout session at any time.

Manually assign attendees to sessions

If you choose to manually assign attendees, you must select Require attendee registration from the Registration section of the Webex Training Scheduling form before you finish scheduling your training session

Manually assign attendees before training session

After you have scheduled your training session, complete the following steps to Pre-assign attendees:

1. From the Classic View Dashboard, click Webex Training.
2. Click Attend a Session. Click Live Sessions.
3. Select your session topic.
4. Click Manage Registrations. Click Pre-assign attendees to breakout sessions.
5. Highlight names from the Not Assigned column. The first added attendee is assigned as the presenter. To change this designation, highlight an assigned attendee and select the assign presenter icon.
6. Click the add (+) icon to add them to the session. If you want to remove an attendee, highlight the assigned attendee and select the remove icon. No more than 100 attendees per breakout session can be added.
7. Click Add Breakout Session to add more breakout sessions. No more than 100 breakout sessions can be added.
8. Click OK.

Manually assign attendees during training session

1. Go to the Breakout Session panel, select Breakout Assignment.
2. Click Add Session or the + button.
3. Enter a name for the breakout session or use the default name. Highlight the name of the session.
4. Highlight any unassigned participant, and click the >> button to add the participant to the session.
5. Select a presenter from the participant list. The presenter can start or end the breakout session at any time.
6. Click OK.

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Manage breakout sessions

Hosts, panelists, and Training Center presenters can manage breakout sessions from the Breakout Session Panel, where they can:

• Allow attendees to create breakout sessions
• Send messages to breakout session participants, including asking all participants to return to the main training session
• End all active breakout sessions

Learn how to manage breakout sessions from the steps below:

Allow attendees to create breakout sessions

1. From your Training Session window, click Breakout menu
2. Click Open Breakout Session Panel.
3. Click Breakout Assignments.
4. Select Allow attendees to create breakout sessions.
5. Click OK.

Send a broadcast message to all breakout sessions

1. From your Training Session window, click Breakout menu
2. Click Broadcast Message.
3. Select message recipients from the To drop-down list.
4. Type your message in the Message field.
5. Click OK.
6. Your message appears on the selected participants' desktops during their breakout sessions.

Ask all participants to return from a breakout session

1. From your Training Session window, click Breakout menu
2. Click Ask All to Return.
3. Breakout session participants will receive a message asking them to return to the main training session. Participants can accept or reject this message.

End all breakout sessions

1. Go to the Breakout Session panel.
2. Click End All.
3. All active breakout session will end within 30 seconds.

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Learn more about breakout sessions

Check out the following articles on breakout sessions from the Cisco Collaboration Help Center: 

• Set Up Breakout Sessions When You Schedule a Cisco Webex Training Session
• Manage Breakout Sessions in Cisco Webex Training

Portions of content courtesy of Cisco.

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