What you need to know
- Microsoft Teams will soon let you set timers for breakout rooms.
- You'll also be able to set room assignments that persist between sessions.
- Teams will also support reassigning people across opened rooms.
The feature appears on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, which states that the feature is in development. The roadmap currently states that the feature is set to come out this month, but that's always subject to change.
Microsoft outlines the features in the Microsoft 365 roadmap:
Microsoft Teams: Breakout Room Timer and Room assignment retentionOrganizers can now set a timer for Breakout rooms from the Breakout Room settings. After the timer has expired, rooms will automatically close, and participants will come back to the main meeting. Room assignment retention provides the ability to persist room configuration and assignment over multiple sessions. With participant reassignment capability, the organizer will now be able to move joined participants across rooms and main meeting also when rooms are opened.
Once all of these features roll out, breakout rooms will be significantly better. Having the option to set timers fits naturally in a classroom setting where an educator may want to split groups off for a set time before coming back together to discuss things.
Microsoft Teams allows you to collaborate with colleagues, upload files, send messages, and chat through video. It integrates with Office 365 and several other cloud services.
