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Created on: 02 July, 2009 Members: 33099 | Community Link: http://e-teaching.wiziq.com
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New WizIQ feature "breakout rooms"

by George Machlan
Posted on 24 January, 2012

The two Edupunk classes this Saturday will be experimenting with the new ability to open several breakout rooms.  Anyone is welcome to come and try it out.

This is a "crash test dummies" exercise.  We do not claim to know what we are doing.  If you are willing to risk life, limb and respect... please join us. ;-)

by EFL Campus posted on 27 February, 2012
Home Education Council: I currently have a small org account (paid on the old plan) that lets me run simultaneously 4 classrooms, which I have used as self-study facilities/language labs. The sessions in all classrooms are recorded.
by Tammy Taiba posted on 25 January, 2012
The feature of the "breakout rooms" seems to be a good one even though I did not experiment with that feature yet in my classes. However, it is really good to know about it.  
by Learning Programs posted on 04 February, 2012

Thanks Edupunk for share a simple explanation of what is the breacout rooms feature.  I found it very interesting, cause one can be able to monitoring the activities of the sub-group in one place.  That's nice.

by George Machlan posted on 25 January, 2012

Hi Anne,


Basically breakout rooms are temporary sub wiziq classrooms.  Say you have 30 students in a class on WizIQ.  You choose two teams to work on separate projects.  Rather than scheduling another classroom for one of the groups to go to, you simply (probably not simple) click on the new breakout button.  This would open a temporary VC that you can assign people to.  They need not know or do anything, you simply create it and click on the names you wish to be put in that closet (sub room).  You can move from one room to another to assist them.  When you wish, you would move them back into the joint (original) room/class.

by George Machlan posted on 27 January, 2012
Sid from customer support showed me his current set of slides for the new VC.  So I punked (plagerized) a few for this Saturdays experiments.

Latest and greatest VC update 2012

Uploaded by The Edupunk on WizIQ Tutorials


Here is an old file from the Edupunk research department on Sid


Here is a link to the two experiments this weekend:
by George Machlan posted on 27 January, 2012
Interesting, the WizIQ embed code is not working on our own portal.  tsk, tsk... I will use our secret weapon... a direct line to Sid   support@wiziq.com

by George Machlan posted on 27 January, 2012

I will be open to attendees issues in both.  So I doubt we will finish the experiments with only one class.  So, yes, I expect to play with it in both.  I think you are the only person (of our gang) who has experiemnted with it.

 

by Anne Fraser posted on 25 January, 2012
ha ha - I have no idea what is going on!  Could someone kindly explain in simple terms what a breakout room is?  I noticed it the other day, but pretended it wasn't there.  Thanks, Mrs Technophobe Fraser.
by Teacher Robert.com posted on 30 January, 2012
Breakout rooms is nothing new (it's a borrowed idea). When I have 6 students in my private group lesson (the maximum I allow per group lesson), I often use breakout rooms (no more than 3 in each group). I go back and forth from one breakout group to the other to facilitate what's going on.
by Marcus posted on 30 January, 2012
It might be borrowed, but this is the first time I have seen it.  I have a history with chat services going back to AOL, irc(mIRC), Mplayer, Firetalk, Paltalk, and even the 3D avatar programs like Holodesk, Activeworlds, and Worlds.  They have all contributed something to community building (along with forum sites, which I won't list here), but I have not seen an interactive site where people can go from one area to the next.  There is one exception, a site with a green interface had something which mentioned this idea kind of.  I think it was called a waiting room, but the tools and buttons were so archaic looking that I didn't bother staying on that site. 

Feel free to share where it is borrowed from.
by Marcus posted on 26 February, 2012
No, only the main room.  One way around it is to teach student or group 1 in the main room, then move them to a breakout room for private study.  Then teach student or group 2 in the main room.  This will keep things recorded.  You can then make a second breakout room and switch students or groups.
by Marcus posted on 24 January, 2012
The breakout room feature is the reason for my upgrading.  I could only see it like a kid staring at candy from the other side of the window.  I don't think Wiziq realizes the pandora's box they opened by unleashing this.

Two things to talk about regarding breakout rooms are teachers working together to do group classes and changing the chat feature so it doesn't load in the classrooms anymore.  Instead, we get a live chat environment when we log in to the Wiziq site.  This way it will keep the room open for the classroom features without limiting screen space, and the chat discussions won't be lost when the class ends.  Currently, you have to toggle between whiteboards, private chats, breakout rooms, and manage who is in which room.  

Wiziq might as well go into community mode now because that's where they are headed with this new feature. 
by Marcus posted on 29 January, 2012
"The class has been cancelled." We will mourn the passing of the "Edupunk & WizIQ Help Desk Public Class" class.
by Marcus posted on 27 January, 2012
George, I see two classes offered.  Are you going to address breakout rooms during both or just one? 
by Home Education Council of America posted on 25 February, 2012
Are the breakout room sessions also recorded?
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