Zooming into Breakout Rooms for Engaging Library Instruction Sessions

i. With Covid-19 came the onset of social distancing, closed campuses, and limited open hours in physical libraries. Instruction librarians shifted to online instruction and had to modify the traditional way of teaching. In face-to-face settings it is easy to read the room. For example, a blank stare usually indicates that the student has “left the room” mentally. This is when an instruction librarian reengages the room by asking a question, changing their intonation, walking around the room, or calling on someone in order to bring back the stargazers. We quickly learned that most of our tried-and-true teaching tips do not work online. Oftentimes cameras are off and it is impossible to know whether the student has left the room not only mentally but also physically. This poster will share a teaching technique on how to engage Zoomed-out students. Participants will learn how to facilitate group work to teach information literacy in an online setting. The poster will provide ample time to allow participants to brainstorm with each other on new ways of conducting library instruction sessions (both in-person and online). Participants will learn how to: 1. delve into active learning using Zoom breakout rooms. 2. facilitate group work in an online setting. 3. teach information literacy concepts through group work. 4. incorporate active learning in an online environment.