BREAKOUT GROUPS

If your MISTC client and server are configured for using breakout groups of online users and you are an instructor, your control panel will display the Breakout button (see illustration below) when you take the floor. The Breakout button is used for entering the MISTC breakout mode by providing the Breakout Group Manager panel. Please note that only one Breakout panel can be active at any given time, even if multiple instructors are connected.

Configuring Breakout Groups
MISTC will divide the users into groups or the instructor may determine which online users will be grouped together by choosing the number of groups and assigning each user to a group. The groups may be configured before the class session and saved or they may be configured while the class session is underway. (To configure the groups--or change them--before the class is in session, the instructor just needs to enter the MISTC classroom, take the floor, and use the Breakout button to see the Breakout Manager panel.)

Use the CONFIGURE BREAKOUT button on the Breakout Manager panel to display the Breakout Rooms User List panel (see illustration below). Next, use the text box to indicate the number of groups desired and click on the SET NUMBER OF GROUPS button. The group numbers will then appear on the Breakout Group Manager panel.

Now, assign each online user to a group. Select the user on the List panel then then select the group number on the Breakout Manager panel. The assigned group numbers will then appear in the second column on the List panel. as well as the first character in the Participants list on the MISTC panel. If you wish to change a user from one group to another, just select the user in the list and select the new group number on the Breakout Manager panel.

Use the CLOSE THIS PANEL button to remove the List panel from your screen.

Using Breakout Groups
When the breakout groups have been configured, use the GO TO BREAKOUT GROUPS button on the Breakout Manager panel to split the users into your MISTC breakout groups or to update the groups. Online users will see that the first character in the Participants list on the MISTC panel is now the group number. Online users will be able to take the floor freely in their own group but cannot communicate with those in the other groups. The Participant list seen by each group shows its own group members names with a green background and all others with a white background.

As instructor, you will not be placed into a group and you will no longer have the floor. If you want to address the whole class, you need to press the SEND TO ALL button and request the floor.

If you wish to join a group, press the JOIN GROUP button. The Breakout Group Manager will now say CLICK GROUP TO JOIN. Select the group you wish to join from the list of group numbers. When you join a group, the group number will appear beside your name in the Participants list and your Breakout Group Manager will say YOU ARE NOW IN GROUP n. You will not have the floor in the group unless you request it.

If you wish to leave a group you have joined, press the SEND TO ALL button. You will no longer be in the group and your Breakout Group Manager will say ANYTHING YOU SEND GOES TO ALL GROUPS. You will still need to request the floor to actually "send to all."

Last updated: 12/18/2012