Using Team Formation Tool Groups to Create Breakout Rooms in Zoom

While Team Formation Tool is a Canvas app, it can also be used to pre-assign breakout rooms in Zoom. This is useful if you plan to assign students to persistent discussion or project groups and plan to use the breakout rooms feature to facilitate group work.

To create breakout rooms from Team Formation groups, you will need to download the group roster in Canvas, edit the CSV file, and upload the edited CSV file to your meeting using the Zoom web portal. Below, you will find step-by-step instructions for each stage of this process.

Note: you will need to set up your Zoom meeting and Canvas groups before beginning this process. Follow the steps in our Team Formation Tool Guide to create Canvas groups, and  consult our Using Zoom for Live Class Sessions guide if you would like pointers on how to set up your Zoom meeting.

Downloading the Group Roster

In your Canvas course:

  • Click on the People menu item

  • At the top of that page, you will see (at least) two tabs: an Everyone tab and a Group tab (the name of the group tab will be the name of the Team Formation Survey you created). Click on your Group Tab.

  • In the top right corner of that page, click the + Import button.

  • On the popup screen, click Download Course Roster CSV.

  • Once the file has downloaded, proceed to the next step.

Editing the CSV file

The Course Roster you just downloaded will contain a lot of information Zoom doesn’t need (in a format that Zoom cannot easily parse). So, it must be cleaned up before it can be uploaded to your Zoom meeting. 

  • Locate the CSV file (likely in your Downloads folder) and open it.

    • Edit your file so that it contains only two columns. The column headers must be named exactly as below:

      Pre-assign Room Name Email Address
      Group name here. netid@dartmouth.edu email address here.

  • Room names can simply be the group numbers the Team Formation Tool generated, but they can also be more creative titles.

  • Alternately, you can copy and paste the data into Zoom’s CSV template. 

  • Whichever approach you took, once you’ve processed your data you should rename and save the CSV file (you may need to “Export As CSV” rather than simply saving, depending on your spreadsheet software).

  • When the file is saved, proceed to the next step.

Uploading the Edited CSV File

  • Navigate to dartmouth.zoom.us and log in with your NetID credentials.

  • Find your Course Meeting.

  • Hover over the meeting title.

  • Click the Edit button when it appears (to the right of the title).

  • Scroll down to Meeting Options.

  • Check the “Breakout room pre-assign” box.

    • Two options will appear below this, once it is checked:

      • Create rooms.

      • Import from CSV.

    • Select Import from CSV.

    • Upload the CSV file you edited.

    • Once Zoom has processed the file, review the data to make sure that the number of rooms and participants in each room are correct. Move participants (students) around as necessary. 

    • Click Save when done.

  • When you next meet, click on Breakout Rooms to launch the rooms you created.

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