Zoom Adds Important New Functionality to Breakout Rooms for Co-Hosts
Zoom, that sometimes infuriating and other times exhilarating e-meeting software tool, has an update that is potentially a game-changer in how we run Zoom sessions in the future. With version 5.4.6, they have added functionality for co-hosts to be able to manage breakout rooms. Until now, only a person with the host role was able to run breakout rooms. This has been a significant issue for coordinators and faculty since we started using it wholesale in spring 2020. Update your Zoom application as soon as you can so you can benefit from this improvement.
When you make someone a co-host, they were not able to see the Breakout Rooms button in the app until after they had been sent to a breakout room. Now, they will see it by default and be able to assist the host and other co-hosts with the running of these smaller electronic rooms.
For those of you with centrally-managed machines (i.e. only IT can download and install software on your machine), reach out to your IT staff to see if they can install it for you. For those who use their own machines or can install software, you can check for updates and be sure that it is at least 5.4.6. Here are the release notes for 5.4.6 in case you want to read more about it: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360053104471-New-updates-for-December-7-2020.
Happy Zooming and Happy Holidays!