Breakout: An Open Measurement and Intervention Tool for Distributed Peer Learning Groups
This tool addresses the need for better peer learning in online education, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing breakout session concepts with added measurement features.
The researchers tackled the problem of limited synchronous interaction in online courses by developing Breakout, a platform that facilitates video-based peer learning groups and collects data on communication patterns, aiming to enhance student engagement and enable research on group interactions and learning outcomes.
We present Breakout, a group interaction platform for online courses that enables the creation and measurement of face-to-face peer learning groups in online settings. Breakout is designed to help students easily engage in synchronous, video breakout session based peer learning in settings that otherwise force students to rely on asynchronous text-based communication. The platform also offers data collection and intervention tools for studying the communication patterns inherent in online learning environments. The goals of the system are twofold: to enhance student engagement in online learning settings and to create a platform for research into the relationship between distributed group interaction patterns and learning outcomes.