Introduction

If you're a frequent user of Zoom, you may have come across the feature called "breakout rooms." These allow you to divide your Zoom meeting into smaller, separate sessions for more focused discussions or activities. But what if you want to record these breakout sessions for later review or reference? Can you do that on Zoom?

What You Will Need

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

1. A Zoom account and the Zoom desktop client installed on your computer

2. The latest version of the Zoom client, which includes the option to record breakout rooms

3. Enabling Breakout Room Recording

4. To enable recording in breakout rooms, you will need to do the following:

5. Open the Zoom client and sign in to your account.

6. Click on the "Settings" button in the top right corner of the window.

7. In the left sidebar, click on the "Recording" tab.

8. Scroll down to the "Breakout Room Recording" section and make sure the option to "Allow recording in breakout rooms" is selected.

Starting a Meeting with Breakout Rooms

Before you can record a breakout room session, you will need to start a Zoom meeting with breakout rooms enabled. To do this:

1. Open the Zoom client and sign in to your account.

2. Click on the "New Meeting" button in the top left corner of the window.

3. In the "New Meeting" window, click on the "Advanced Options" button.

4. In the "Advanced Options" window, make sure the "Breakout Rooms" option is selected.

5. Click on the "Start Meeting" button to begin the meeting.

Assigning Participants to Breakout Rooms

Once you have started a meeting with breakout rooms enabled, you can assign participants to specific breakout rooms. To do this:

1. In the main Zoom window, click on the "Breakout Rooms" button in the bottom toolbar.

2. In the "Breakout Rooms" window, you can either manually assign participants to breakout rooms by dragging their names to the desired room, or you can click on the "Automatically assign all participants to rooms" button to have Zoom assign participants to rooms randomly.

3. Click on the "Start" button to begin the breakout rooms session.

What are Breakout Rooms in Zoom?

For those unfamiliar with the concept, breakout rooms in Zoom are virtual spaces that you can create within a larger meeting. They allow you to split your attendees into smaller groups, each with their own leader. The main purpose of breakout rooms is to facilitate smaller, more intimate discussions or activities within a larger meeting.

Can You Record Breakout Rooms in Zoom?

The short answer is: yes, you can record breakout rooms in Zoom. However, it's important to note that recording breakout rooms works a bit differently from recording the main Zoom meeting. In this section, we'll explore the different ways you can record breakout rooms in Zoom and what you need to know before doing so.

Method 1: Record Each Breakout Room Separately

One way to record breakout rooms in Zoom is to record each room separately. To do this, you'll need to be the host of the meeting and have the "Record to the Cloud" feature enabled in your account. Here's how to do it:

1. Start a Zoom meeting and create your breakout rooms.

2. Enter each breakout room as the host and start recording. You can do this by clicking on the "Record" button in the bottom center of the screen.

3. When you're done recording, stop the recording and exit the breakout room.

4. Repeat this process for each breakout room you want to record.

Method 2: Record All Breakout Rooms at Once

If you don't want to go through the hassle of entering and recording each breakout room separately, there's a way to record all breakout rooms at once. To do this, you'll need to have the "Record to the Cloud" feature enabled in your account and have the "Record breakout rooms separately" option turned on. Here's how to do it:

1. Start a Zoom meeting and create your breakout rooms.

2. Go to the "Breakout Rooms" tab in the Zoom control panel and click the "Record All" button.

3. When you're done recording, stop the recording and exit the breakout rooms.

Method 3: Use a Third-Party Recording Tool

If neither of the above methods work for you, or if you want more advanced recording options, you can use a third-party recording tool to capture your breakout rooms. Some options include OBS Studio, Camtasia, and Screencast-O-Matic. These tools allow you to record not only audio and video, but also screen activity and other visuals.

Things to Consider Before Recording Breakout Rooms

Before you start recording your breakout rooms, there are a few things you should consider:

• Consent: Make sure all participants in the breakout rooms are aware that the session is being recorded and are okay with it. It's good practice to obtain written consent from all participants before recording any Zoom meeting.

• Privacy: Be mindful of the information shared in the breakout rooms, as it may be recorded and shared with others. Avoid discussing sensitive or personal information in breakout rooms if possible.

• Storage: Keep in mind that recorded breakout rooms will take up space in your Zoom cloud storage. Make sure you have enough storage or know how to manage it.

How to View and Access Recorded Breakout Rooms

Once you've recorded your breakout rooms, you'll likely want to view and access the recordings. Here's how to do it:

• Method 1: If you recorded each breakout room separately, you can view and access the recordings in the same way you would view and access the main Zoom meeting recording. Simply go to the "Recordings" tab in the Zoom control panel and click on the recording you want to view.

• Method 2: If you recorded all breakout rooms at once, you'll need to go to the "Breakout Rooms" tab in the Zoom control panel and click on the recording you want to view. From there, you'll be able to access each individual breakout room recording.

• Method 3: If you used a third-party recording tool, you'll need to access the recordings through that tool. Follow the instructions for the specific tool you used to view and access your recordings.

Tips for Effective Breakout Room Recordings

To make the most of your breakout room recordings, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Clearly communicate the purpose of the breakout room and what you want participants to do or discuss. This will help ensure that the recordings are relevant and useful.

• Encourage active participation from all participants. This will make for a more engaging and dynamic recording.

• Consider using breakout rooms for different purposes or activities. For example, you could have one breakout room for discussions, another for group work, and another for Q&A. This will help create a diverse range of recordings that can be used for different purposes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is possible to record breakout rooms in Zoom, but it's important to consider the consent, privacy, and storage implications before doing so. By following the steps outlined in this guide and keeping the tips in mind, you can effectively record and access your breakout room sessions for future reference or review.

How Hume Can Help

If you're looking for an easy and efficient way to manage and analyze your breakout room recordings, Hume might be the solution you need. Hume is an interview intelligence platform that records, transcribes, and summarizes interviews to help hiring teams unlock their interview data and move faster.

Here are a few ways Hume can help with your breakout room recordings:

• Record and transcribe: Hume automatically records and transcribes your breakout room sessions, so you don't have to worry about manually recording and transcribing them. This saves you time and effort, and ensures that you have a complete and accurate record of the session.

• Summarize: Hume uses advanced algorithms to analyze and summarize your breakout room recordings, highlighting key points and themes. This makes it easy to quickly review and understand the content of the recordings, without having to listen to the entire session.

• Analyze and compare: Hume provides detailed analytics and insights into your breakout room recordings, allowing you to compare and contrast different sessions and identify patterns and trends. This can help you identify areas for improvement and optimize your breakout room sessions.

• Train and coach: Hume's analytics and insights can also be used to train and coach your team on how to effectively use breakout rooms. By analyzing past sessions, you can identify best practices and areas for improvement, and use this knowledge to optimize future sessions.

Overall, Hume can help you unlock the full potential of your breakout room recordings, making it easier and more efficient to manage and analyze them.