Corona: Digital Tools for Online Events – A Collection of Tools

Jitsi - Jitsi is a Free/Libre open source software. The application runs in the most popular web browsers without installation. Scalable for educational institutions (see City of Munich) WebEx - video conferencing solutions and screen sharing features, currently free offer due to Corona epidemic with up to 100 TN per video conference. DFN - The Conference Service in the German Research Network (supports not only Adobe Connect, but also Pexip) Wonder - A virtual space for meetings and conversations that relies on interactions between TN, via a map TN can choose or initiate different group conversations themselves. Click Meeting - tool for webinars; free for 30 days and up to 25 participants Irooms - digital sessions in open space format (barcamps) Twitch - live streaming portal for video games - "continuous interactivity through chat with project managers as well as exchange among participants during the entire workshop, chat only in written form". Blackboard - real-time video conferencing tool that lets you add files, share applications, and use a virtual whiteboard for interaction Hopin - An online event platform that combines most of the event tools: Reception, Main Stage, (Breakout) Sessions, Live Streams, "Chat Roulette" for Networking incl. Opportunity to exchange digital business cards, digital marketplace with "Exhibiton Booths", registration. 8x8 - free video conferencing tool used in HFD team for internal meetings. Ordering the speeches by digital show of hands works well. Needs a stable internet connection. Barcamptools by Camper - a free open-source offer for the organization of barcamps - In the frontend even barrier-free! VoxR - servers are located in Germany & DSGVO compliant. Up to 20 participants free of charge, in the paid version up to 1000 people. Includes common interaction tools (see below) Meetyoo by ubivent - digital events, teleconferences & web conferences - several 1000 participants possible Eyes on - Browser-based tool with multiple meeting rooms and is designed to work even with low bandwidth YuLinc - server in Germany, community praises good support service and intuitive usability Blizz - online conferencing service from the German company Team Viewer, used in the community with additional screen tablet. alfaview - DSGVO-compliant and server in Germany/EU, among others in use at the Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg. vitero - server of the web conferencing tool is in Germany. Includes various integrated tools for collaboration.

Kialo - Platform for online discussions and collaborative debates Adhocracy - structuring democratic, collaborative voting and for co-determination Wooclap - Tool for interactive real-time surveys Pidgeon Hole - Event planning and live Q&A, surveys, polls, workspace. Mentimeter - Real-Time Surveys Slido - Real-Time Surveys Mural - collaborative design of mind maps and data collections, free for educational use Drawpile - open source program for collaborative drawing and sketching VOXR - Tool for surveys, word clouds, results from world cafés and workshops, free of charge up to 20 participants Kialo-Edu - discussion platform for structured discussions and essays Tscheck.in - Questions to warm up or get to know. Daresay - questions to warm up or get to know each other.

HackMD - Team Workspace - collaboration tool with features like book, slides, notes and text editor Padlet - Workspace with focus on appealing design Slack - Chat-based communication within workgroups & for sharing files. Open source alternative that is also used by the HFD community: Mattermost. Riot - Chat based communication with focus on encryption, free software Discord - communication tool from the gaming scene, also used at the university for chats and video exchange HumHub - Open source social network similar to Facebook that includes features such as calendar, wiki and polls. Keybase.io - encrypted, open source chat and cloud storage, Hangouts can be integrated. Future is uncertain as it has been bought out by Zoom.

Moodle - THE learning platform. This infographic on the didactic use of Moodle is interesting, which can be partially applied to the university context. STUD.IP - Study-accompanying portal for classroom teaching, a campus and learning management system for the integration of external systems and applications ILIAS - Open Source E-Learning Platform OpenOLAT - Open Source Learning Management System, on current occasion there are didactic tips and general recommendations for the use of OpenOLAT. OpenedX - Open source platform, mainly for MOOCs, but also adaptable as a learning environment. Polarstern Education, for example, has experience in this.

Etherpad - web-based text editor for collaborative text editing (open source license) Sciflow - collaborative writing, enhancing and formatting of scientific texts Overleaf - collaborative editor for LaTeX, many layouts available, e.g. for exercises or posters Drawpile - collaborative drawing program that allows multiple users to sketch simultaneously on the same canvas (Free Software). CryptPad - popular office, project management, and presentation tools, encrypted and under open source license Miro - Collaborative work like with a whiteboard or moderation board. Collaboratively create, link, and sort notes.

Camtasia - record screencasts, optionally with webcam and sound, and edit the videos Snagit - cheaper alternative to Camtasia from the same manufacturer; besides screencasts also suitable for prepared screenshots and instructions Loom - recording of screencasts, optionally with webcam, additional editing of the videos possible (e.g. interaction). Free educational application. Studio.Opencast - recording screencasts as video, optionally with sound. Recording in the browser possible. Video can then be downloaded or posted to the institutional opencast area. This open source platform is used to manage and share videos. A map shows widespread use at German universities. Open Broadcaster Software - open source tool for live streams and screencast videos, allows various transitions between views.

Team Viewer - remote access and support, screen sharing. (Creatively repurposed for workshop) Second Life - online 3D infrastructure for user-designed virtual worlds with personal avatars (for conferences)

GitHub Classroom - complement to GitHub for exam performance, group work, and small-scale feedback in programming. Medical didactics OER - different learning scenarios will be presented, digital exam formats and CoolTools. Mathmax - digital math trainer with exercises, sample solutions and theory, developed by students and constantly extended DHVLab - Open source learning environment for skills in the field of Digital Humanities, operation and support by LMU Munich.

Jitsi - Jitsi is a Free/Libre open source software. The application runs in the most popular web browsers without installation. Scalable for educational institutions (see City of Munich) WebEx - video conferencing solutions and screen sharing features, currently free offer due to Corona epidemic with up to 100 TN per video conference. DFN - The Conference Service in the German Research Network (supports not only Adobe Connect, but also Pexip) Wonder - A virtual space for meetings and conversations that relies on interactions between TN, via a map TN can choose or initiate different group conversations themselves. Click Meeting - tool for webinars; free for 30 days and up to 25 participants Irooms - digital sessions in open space format (barcamps) Twitch - live streaming portal for video games - "continuous interactivity through chat with project managers as well as exchange among participants during the entire workshop, chat only in written form". Blackboard - real-time video conferencing tool that lets you add files, share applications, and use a virtual whiteboard for interaction Hopin - An online event platform that combines most of the event tools: Reception, Main Stage, (Breakout) Sessions, Live Streams, "Chat Roulette" for Networking incl. Opportunity to exchange digital business cards, digital marketplace with "Exhibiton Booths", registration. 8x8 - free video conferencing tool used in HFD team for internal meetings. Ordering the speeches by digital show of hands works well. Needs a stable internet connection. Barcamptools by Camper - a free open-source offer for the organization of barcamps - In the frontend even barrier-free! VoxR - servers are located in Germany & DSGVO compliant. Up to 20 participants free of charge, in the paid version up to 1000 people. Includes common interaction tools (see below) Meetyoo by ubivent - digital events, teleconferences & web conferences - several 1000 participants possible Eyes on - Browser-based tool with multiple meeting rooms and is designed to work even with low bandwidth YuLinc - server in Germany, community praises good support service and intuitive usability Blizz - online conferencing service from the German company Team Viewer, used in the community with additional screen tablet. alfaview - DSGVO-compliant and server in Germany/EU, among others in use at the Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg. vitero - server of the web conferencing tool is in Germany. Includes various integrated tools for collaboration.

Suitable for: Lecture, discussion, workshop, e-learning. Webinars, virtual office hours & meetings, audio/video conferences for up to 200 participants (this is the TN number from DFN, more are possible here after consultation), conferences with various sessions & barcamps, exams. Features: Audio/video multipoint conferencing, shared whiteboard, presentations, archive for presentations, application and desktop sharing (not on Linux), chat, polling , recording , participation via phone, tablet, cell phone possible Prerequisites: Application or retrieval in browser, app for mobile use, headset & webcam Cost: Free of charge via membership in the German Research Network (DFN). Until July 1, 2020, Adobe Connect is offering a free 90-day trial for meeting rooms up to 25 participants. Performance in the crisis: Unfortunately, there are always server problems at the moment. We know from conversations that DFN is working on an expansion. Privacy: Customers install instances on their own servers. Accordingly, the DFN data is located in Germany. Here's what the HFD community has to say about Adobe Connect: This works well: Interaction working together on the whiteboard Lectures with presentation of slides flexible layout for the meeting room Feedback via chat and survey predominantly technical stability suitable for many people This does not work so well: Partly technical difficulties Crash and drop-out, dial-up problems the recording of the meetings is not always reliable Use of the functions is not intuitive for everyone - but the help pages and tutorials offer a good start After 1,200 users, the service ends; there are dropouts at low data transfer speeds, but other providers have solved this problem. Learn more tips and hints about Adobe Connect: "With many participants, the transmission of many images at the same time is difficult, so it is advisable to add rather few web cameras or the sound individually. A moderator in addition to the actual presenter makes sense." (HFD survey) Didactic guidance for using the features from the Adobe Connect DACH Research & Teaching User Group: https://wiki.fernuni-hagen.de/dachadobeconnect/index.php/Hauptseite Short introduction of DFNconf: https://www.conf.dfn.de/anleitungen-und-dokumentation/adobe-connect/kurzanleitung-links/ Setup and tips for implementation by Janine Funke for dghd: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vEZlvc0nHvXto0lfhFEwkJ5Zuj7bxY0XCVHVnooPAls/edit 2. zoom Zoom is easy to use and can be used for location-independent team meetings and short presentations as a web conference. Up to 100 people can participate in the video/audio conference. In the basic version, the meeting duration is limited to 40 minutes. For example, Zoom is a good tool for students & study groups to hold short online meeting. In the debate about more secure and privacy-compliant online tools, there is considerable criticism of Zoom. Therefore, we would like to reiterate our disclaimer at this point: Please coordinate the use of a tool with your data protection officer if necessary. This article cannot provide an overview of legal provisions. Therefore, inform yourself carefully before you actively use a tool.

Suitable for: Video conferencing, short meetings, lecture, discussion, workshop Features: Audio/video conferencing, chat, screen sharing, collaborative annotation, meeting recording, polls, virtual handshake Prerequisites: Installation of the application on desktop / smartphone, headset and webcam Cost: Free of charge up to 100 participants and limited to 40 min.; beyond that subscriptions for 13.99 € - 18.99 € / month Performance in the crisis: No performance problems are known so far. Privacy: US server. Therefore, Zoom cannot be fully recommended from a data protection point of view, and there is also criticism of the application's data grabbing. Some universities (e.g. the University of Kassel) therefore advise against using Zoom. Here's what the HFD community has to say about Zoom: This works well: Presentation for smaller groups and interactive meetings (discussion) fixed URL for meeting - usability Muting of participants by default - no noise at the beginning This does not work so well: longer meetings only via Pro subscription without app or add-in technical difficulties may occur View different for participants Tips & further hints for use: "What surprised me in a positive way was the shift to a strong content focus." (HFD survey) Tips for online events in the Zoom blog: https://blog.zoom.us/wordpress/2020/03/04/best-practices-for-hosting-a-digital-event/ "A few simple tips for better online meetings (COVID-19 edition) the MIT Media Lab has tips for setting up Hangouts and Zoom: https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/a-few-simple-tips-for-better-online-meetings-covid-19-edition/

Suitable for: Video conferences and webinars up to 250 participants, lecture Features: Audio / video conferencing, screen sharing, chat, meeting recording, integrated appointment calendar Prerequisites: mobile app / link in browser, headset & webcam, stable internet connection Cost: 14-day free trial with up to 250 participants; in response to Corona, there is an Emergency Kit, among others for educational institutions, with which the various applications can be used free of charge for up to 3 months. Otherwise depending on version 10,75 € - 14,33 € / month This is what our community says about GoToMeeting: This works well: runs stable - problems only with poor internet connection Simple operation, self-explanatory This does not work so well: no real chat (moderated and activated by project manager) Tips for use: "For the GotoWebinar, there should definitely be another person besides the project manager to oversee the written questions, chats or hand signals of the participants. In GotoWebinar, there is a clear division of roles between project managers and listeners." Performance in the crisis: No performance problems are known so far. Privacy: US server. Therefore, GoToMeeting cannot be unreservedly recommended from a data protection perspective.

Suitable for: Video conferencing with up to 25 people (Hangouts) / with up to 250 people or live streaming for up to 100,000 people (Meet) Features: Audio/video multipoint conferencing, subtitles, chat Prerequisites: App for mobile use / suitable browser, G-Suite account for creating a meeting, headset and camera. Cost: Free use of Hangouts until June 2020 for G Suite customers, G Suite is free for NPOs or with per-user subscription pricing Performance in the crisis: No performance problems Privacy: US server. Therefore, Google Meet cannot be unreservedly recommended from a data protection point of view. Here's what our community has to say about Google Hangout/ Google Meet: This works well: Invitation and participation to the meeting via Google Calendar This does not work so well: additional tool for written exchange and coordination (e.g. Slack) is useful Tips and further hints At the Youtube channel G-Suite there is a short introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkvig0i_kI8&list=PLU8ezI8GYqs7tAIAv9qFoYM7F02L251Ai&index=13&t=0s "A few simple tips for better online meetings (COVID-19 edition) the MIT Media Lab has tips for setting up Hangouts and Zoom: https://www.media.mit.edu/posts/a-few-simple-tips-for-better-online-meetings-covid-19-edition/ The FU Berlin provides tips and advice on using Google Hangout: https://blogs.fu-berlin.de/ideenbar/2016/01/28/google-hangouts-starterhilfe/

Suitable for: Conference with various sessions, lecture, workshop, meetings, work in & coordination of project groups, BarCamp. Features: Scheduling help, notes, desktop sharing, recording, chat, share system audio (sounds of the desktop are transmitted, handy for videos). Prerequisites: Headset and webcam, Office 365 - External guest access possible Cost: For the trial version 0€. Otherwise 10,50€ - 19,70€. Because of COVID19 the trial version was extended to half a year. Performance in the crisis: No performance problems Privacy: Microsoft guarantees storage on servers located in Germany. Accordingly, there are limited data protection concerns. Here's what our community thinks about teams: This works well: many participants Chat, deposit documents MS Office has/can almost everyone Transmission of image and sound, presentations and chat works well This does not work so well: The use of Microsoft Cloud for Teams and OneNote is not allowed for official use at some universities. Tips and comments: "The usability is pretty good. The tool is almost self-explanatory and contains all the important functions. The integration of external apps (such as Trello) is great. Licenses are already included for universities in the Office365 packages. Video telephony is based on Skype, which was purchased by MS. In the near future, all MS products will be distributed via Teams, including the Office products. The trend is towards software-as-a-service and away from individual installations. Teams will therefore become the central platform for MS in the future, so that technical support and good quality can probably still be expected. Data protection is (still) questionable. MS now says it has opened data centers in Germany. Best to have DPO check." (HFD Survey)

Suitable for: Conference with various sessions, lecture, workshop, meetings, work in & coordination of project groups, BarCamp. Features: Scheduling help, notes, desktop sharing, recording, chat, share system audio (sounds of the desktop are transmitted, handy for videos). Prerequisites: Headset and webcam, Office 365 - External guest access possible Cost: For the trial version 0€. Otherwise 10,50€ - 19,70€. Because of COVID19 the trial version was extended to half a year. Performance in the crisis: No performance problems Privacy: Microsoft guarantees storage on servers located in Germany. Accordingly, there are limited data protection concerns. Here's what our community thinks about teams: This works well: many participants Chat, deposit documents MS Office has/can almost everyone Transmission of image and sound, presentations and chat works well This does not work so well: The use of Microsoft Cloud for Teams and OneNote is not allowed for official use at some universities. Tips and comments: "The usability is pretty good. The tool is almost self-explanatory and contains all the important functions. The integration of external apps (such as Trello) is great. Licenses are already included for universities in the Office365 packages. Video telephony is based on Skype, which was purchased by MS. In the near future, all MS products will be distributed via Teams, including the Office products. The trend is towards software-as-a-service and away from individual installations. Teams will therefore become the central platform for MS in the future, so that technical support and good quality can probably still be expected. Data protection is (still) questionable. MS now says it has opened data centers in Germany. Best to have DPO check." (HFD Survey)