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Digital Transformation leads to Learning Transformation - But what are the best EdTech tools to foster digital learning, collaboration and co-creation? I collected my TOP10 tools for a lot of categories around Learning and NewWork here, so it is not a list of all possible solutions.

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A big tool collection around Educational / Learning Technology:

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Digital Transformation leads to Learning Transformation - But what are the best EdTech tools to foster digital learning, collaboration and co-creation? I collected my TOP10 tools for a lot of categories around Learning and NewWork here, so it is not a list of all possible solutions.

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DEON - Mural/Miro ähnliches Whiteboard aus Bersin

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DEON - Mural/Miro ähnliches Whiteboard aus Bersin

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entspricht den deutschen Sicherheitsstandards

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All your files and tools
on one Infinite Canvas

Welcome to the next generation of digital work and collaboration! DEON integrates with a rapidly growing number of systems and formats. Especially in the Microsoft Ecosystem with MS Teams, O365, Sharepoint and OneDrive. Start using your familiar tools in a new visual way!

DEON is designed to better exploit human visual cognitive capabilities to boost creativity, simplify complexity, find things faster, memorize better and understand context.

Learning DEON takes only 30 minutes and the simple core principle opens up countless use cases. Developed for large enterprises, DEON meets the highest standards for performance, reliability and security.

Use Cases

Microsoft O365

DEON is the Visual Platform for Microsoft O365. A more visual and agile way to use O365 for better productivity, efficiency and user experience.

Extend your O365, MS Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint experience with the DEON infinite visual canvas.

Just like in an unlimited virtual room, users can spread important documents and data from multiple sources. Always find things exacty where you left them. Whenever you enter the DEON Project from your Desktop PC, Tablet, mobile device or Powerwall.

Edit content directly inside the zoomable workspace with multiple users at the same time. Each user can navigate independently to any spot on the canvas.

For Workshops, Meetings and Labs: Better exploit existing hardware and combine it with the latest MS Surface devices like Surface Hub or Surface Studio.

Distributed Teams

DEON is like a virtual room or desk where team members can meet at any time, leave notes or documents, prepare material for other team members or work together in real-time.

Save travel expenses.

Save time.

Keep track of complex teamwork processes.

Prevent mistakes and misunderstandings.

Increase efficiency.

Keep your team motivated, informed and connected.

Future Workspace - Digital Labs

DEON is the number one platform for Digital Labs in large enterprises.

Run a huge variety of different events (Presentations, Sprints, Workshops, Meetings, Trainings) in one environment.

Replace expensive and error-prone hardware (signal converters, matrix switchers, extenders, ...) by DEON software.

Lower installation cost, lower complexity, less wiring.

Built-in streaming engine for video transmission over existing IP networks. Including Remote Control for Mouse, Keyboard and Touch.

Supports embedded live video sources and embedded RDP connections.

Use existing hardware with any resolution, aspect ratio and screensize and mix it with the latest devices to make better use of it.

Workshops

Go purely digital or mix it with paper!

Replace metaplan whiteboards and paper by a digital interactive environment.

The DEON infinite canvas can be spanned across multiple independent screens in a room. All participants can then edit different areas in the same Project.

Connect multiple locations and Remote Teams in Virtual Workshops.

Increase efficiency, engagement and agility.

Save time and material for preparation and follow-up.

Embed multiple live video signals from any source.

Integrated detection of paper notes to combine paper with digital.

Presentations

Say goodbye to boring Bullet Point Presentations!
DEON fundamentally changes the way presentations are created and shown.

Instead of creating countless Slideshow Decks, DEON allows you the seamless transition between work and presentation.

Create presentationpaths directly in your workspace and access them at any time, from any device, online and offline.

Multiple users can edit the same Presentation together in real-time from different locations. Even during the running Presentation!

Invite your audience to contribute live to the running Presentation or instantly switch to a collaborative session.

Embed live web pages and web apps.

Embed and automatically trigger video files, live video sources, RDP-sessions or running applications.

Deep and powerful integration with Microsoft Powerpoint.

Create stunning interactive shows with multiple synchronized screens even at different remote locations simultaneously.

Powerwalls

DEON is independent of screen size, resolution and aspect ratio.

Combine different display hardware like LED, LCD or projection without any limits on quality and performance.

Span huge Projects across multiple screens in real-time without extra wiring.

Embed multiple live sources from capture cards, cameras, any running applications, MS Remotedesktops or Web sources.

Interact with Multitouch, Stylus, Mouse or mobile devices like iPhones, iPads or Tablet PCs

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Welcome to the next generation of digital work and collaboration! DEON integrates with a rapidly growing number of systems and formats. Especially in the Microsoft Ecosystem with MS Teams, O365, Sharepoint and OneDrive. Start using your familiar tools in a new visual way!

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Element group video messenger | Group chat | Team communication productivity app | Matrix open network | Decentralized end-to-end encryption

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Element is a secure group video messenger app with advanced group chat privacy settings, team communication and productivity features while working from home using Matrix open network. Collaboration with strong end-to-end encryption. Group messenger Riot.im is now Element

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6 Zoom Open Source Alternatives with Pros/Cons

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Zoom is currently the most popular video conferencing app globally. However, the service is not end-to-end encrypted. It does use TLS to encrypt your data, but the Zoom servers can still potentially access your meeting data. To top it, came the controversial Motherboard report which stated "Zoom iOS app was sending data to Facebook even if the user wasn't even registered on Facebook. Moreover, Zoom has a bunch of woes. So, if you are looking for a more private and secure alternative, here's a list of open-source video chat alternatives.

Open-Source Secure Zoom Alternatives

All these apps are open-source and more-or-less earns from companies collaborating with it. Hence, all these apps are free to consumers and they even allow you to host the video conferencing app on your personal server.

1. BigBlueButton

Limit: 150 people

BigBlueButton is a free open-source web conferencing system designed for online classes. So, basically, it means that it doesn't have a dedicated desktop or mobile app. You have to host and attend web conferences over an HTML5 browser (Chrome/Firefox) only. But, even on the browser, BigBlueButton works like a charm. Foremost, similar to Skype and Zoom, you don't have to register to attend a meeting.

Due to increased demand, recordings are temporarily disabled and the maximum duration of a meeting has been reduced to 60 minutes on BigBlueButton's server.

You have the usual features like public and private chat, screen share, file share, whiteboard for annotation and explanatory, etc. However, unlike Zoom, group polling is free and you get to run polls during your meetings. Moreover, breakout rooms are also available. In case you don't know, breakout rooms let you furthermore group participants into small groups for collaboration.

BigBlueButton doesn't have a paid model but you can consider Elos (formerly known as Mconf) to be the paid version. It starts as low as $5/person and provides a bunch of extra features like cloud recording, monthly reports, etc.
What's good?

Unlimited number of users in a web conference

No sign up required to attend a video conference

Features like public and private chat, screen share, breakout rooms, polls, etc

University app integration like Drupal, Canvas, WordPress, etc

File sharing

Ability to host the video conferencing apps on your own server

What's not?

No dedicated Android and iOS apps

Cannot share screen on mobile

No end-to-end encryption

2. Jitsi Meet

Limit: 75 people

Jitsi Meet lets you both attend and host meetings without registration. This, however, does come with a few downsides and we'll get to it in a bit. Similar to other video conferencing apps, you have the usual stuff like public & private chat, screen sharing, recording, etc. Additionally, it has the popular "Blur my Background" feature that might remind you of Skype.

The most unique things about Jitsi Meet is sharing a YouTube video. Moreover, you can start a live YouTube stream within Jitsi Meet as well. These tools do come in handy if you planning to go live with a bunch of remotely placed people. It also supports meeting recording but you need to have a Dropbox account for it.

Jitsi Meet works on the same Zoom principle where you have an auto-generated meeting name that the attendees have to enter in order to join your meeting. However, these meeting IDs can be manually entered so there are high chances of meeting name collision. Since you can create a meeting without signing in, no one is a moderator. Meaning, anyone can kick someone out of a meeting or mute other participants. This might not be a concern in a formal meeting but if you are taking a webinar with people over the Internet, moderation is a serious concern.
What's good?

No sign up required to attend or host a video conference

Features like public and private chat, screen share, cloud recording, etc

Inbuilt integration with Etherpad

Skype-like Blur my Background feature

Ability to host the video conferencing apps on your own server

What's not?

Moderation controls are just vague

No end-to-end encryption

No white screen or file sharing

3. Jami

Maximum Limit: Unlimited

Unlike BigBlueButton and Jitsi Meet, Jami is not a web conferencing app and has dedicated desktop and mobile apps. It is also end-to-end encrypted and works on a peer-to-peer communication model. In case you don't know, peer-to-peer communication works between the caller and the receiver. The data is not routed via an intermediate server. But, since it works peer-to-peer, you have to download and register on Jami because this unique username (40-character long ID internally) is used to identify you across networks.

Jami has all the required tools for a video chat app but it somehow doesn't feel like a group solution to me. In order to initiate a video conference, first, you have to add all users to your contact and then add them to the video call. This makes sense for privacy but it is not your run-and-gun video conferencing app.
What's good?

End-to-End encrypted calls and peer-to-peer communication

Dedicated apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, AndroidTV

No file-sharing limit and video conferencing limit

LAN based video conferencing without Internet

What's not?

Connecting a video conference is still a task wherein you have to add contacts individually

4. ezTalks Cloud Meeting

Maximum Limit: 100 people

ezTalks is another open-source video conferencing app just like Zoom. And Zoom is not just a reference for ezTalks, it is like Zoom in every sense. The pricing model, video call limitations, and the interface, everything reminds me of Zoom. It also works on an 8-9 digit meeting ID that you can use to join meetings. Quite similar! But, you know there's no harm in copying the good bit.

ezTalks is free and lets you hold a group video call of 100 people with a 45-minute video limit. You can also join-in a meeting without signing-up. On top of the usual features in Zoom, ezTalks also provides a free group poll. It also provides 1 GB of cloud storage for every free user. This enables you to record meetings in the mobile app as well. Moreover, it also provides you the option of holding webinars for a vast number of people over the Internet (100 mins in the free variant).
What's good?

Gallery view to accommodate a bird-eye view of the meeting

Local video recording plus cloud storage of 1 GB for each free user

Simultaneous screen sharing and remote control

Group polls in the free variant

Google Calendar and Office 365 integration

What's not?

No app for Linux

Hosting and joining a meeting requires downloading the desktop app

Visit ezTalks Cloud Meeting
5. Linphone

Maximum Limit: 8 people

Unlike other apps in this list, Linphone is an open-source app dedicatedly built for VoIP calls. It works with any SIP provider. You can configure your SIP ID in Linphone and take your phone calls within the app. Additionally, Linphone can also do group video calls. But, similar to Jami, you have to add all your contacts before you can initiate video calls.

My most favorite feature about Linphone is that it lets you take multiple audio and video calls at once. You can pause, merge calls and quickly switch between them. It also provides an echo cancellation switch to cut down the echo during calls. It also maintains a call history and lets you record calls as well.

Linphone works great when it comes to group conferencing. However, the audio and video conferencing limits max out at 8 people which is quite small. Moreover, the end-to-end chat encryption only works on mobile apps.
What's good?

Handle multiple audio and video calls by pausing calls

Ability to cancel echo from your calls

Dedicated mobile apps for Android and iOS

What's not?

End-to-End encryption only for messages on the mobile app

You need to add contacts before starting a group video call

Maximum limit of 8 people is quite less

6. Riot

Maximum People: Unlimited

Similar to Jami, Riot is also an end-to-end encrypted communication tool. But unlike Jami, it does have a web app. However, that's not what's unique about Riot. You can consider Riot as an entire communication tool like Slack or Microsoft Teams, end-to-end encrypted though! Similar to Slack, it lets you create your workspace wherein you invite your team and chat, create groups, hold video calls and conferences, etc. The app interface is similar to that of Slack and is pretty easy to use.

The only underlying difference between Slack and Riot is Matrix. Unlike Slack which uses its own servers, Riot uses the cloud services from Matrix. Hence in the free variant of Riot, you don't get your own custom workspace name and data is stored on a public Matrix server. It's encrypted, though and no one can access it. So, for a custom workspace, you would have to shell out as much as $10/month (5 users). Moreover, Riot uses Matrix which is an open-source protocol and you can chat with users on Slack as well.
What's good?

End-to-End encryption

Entire communication tool with chat, groups, video conferencing, etc

Uses open-source Matrix model and provides communication to Slack as well

Features like file sharing, groups, video calls, audio calls, screen sharing, etc.

Ability to host on your own server

What's not?

Not too many bots as compared to Slack

Comparison Table

Closing Words

For a one-off webinar, Jitsi Meet is a good platform. BigBlueButton is an ideal alternative if you are considering to replace Zoom for your university or school. For a long term solution, you might have to look for Slack or Microsoft Teams.

In case you want a more open-source alternative to 1-on-1 video chats, Signal and Telegram is a good option. For an open-source chat application, Session is another good alternative. For more issues or queries regarding Zoom and video conferencing, let me know in the comments below

Also Read: Apps to stay Productive when Working From Home

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Open-Source Secure Zoom Alternatives For Video Conferencing | TechWiser

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Zoom is currently the most popular video conferencing app globally. However, the service is not end-to-end encrypted. It does use TLS to encrypt your data, but the Zoom servers can still potentially access your meeting data. To top it, came the controversial Motherboard report which stated "Zoom iOS app was sending data to Facebook even if the user wasn't even registered on Facebook.

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If you want to use M365 as a Learning Eco System as well...

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Mache​ Microsoft 365 ​zur Lernumgebung​ ​mit​ M365 Lernhacks. Agil lernen und arbeiten.

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In Zeiten des Home Office sind Videokonferenzen für viele Menschen zum Alltag geworden, die bisher nur selten oder gar nicht auf dieses moderne Kommunikationsmittel angewiesen waren. Die meisten Menschen dürften das Gefühl bestätigen können, dass sich Videokonferenzen „komisch" und vielleicht auch unangenehm anfühlen. Google hat nun die fünf wichtigsten Gründe für dieses Unbehagen analysiert und gibt Tipps zur Vermeidung.

Videokonferenzen sind in vielen Unternehmen Büro-Alltag und werden schnell zur Normalität. Viele andere Menschen, die nun erstmals für längere Zeit im Home Office arbeiten, sind aber weniger routiniert und können sich kaum mit dieser Technologie anfreunden. Ich spreche dabei aus ganz persönlicher Erfahrung und habe Videokonferenzen in meinem früheren Job so weit es geht vermieden. Aber warum? Google hat auch darauf die Antwort.

Google hat gerade erst einen großen Schritt im Videokonferenz-Markt gemacht und ist natürlich daran interessiert, dass die Produkte auch nach dem Ende des erzwungenen Home Office weiterhin stark genutzt werden. Also springt man nun auch auf die psychologische Seite und erklärt, warum sich Videokonferenzen im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes unnatürlich anfühlen und wie sich diese Probleme relativ leicht lösen lassen. Für viele Menschen sicherlich eine interessante Lektüre.

1. Millisekunden machen den Unterschied

Wir Menschen haben uns 70.000 Jahre lang auf die persönliche Kommunikation von Angesicht zu Angesicht eingestellt und sind es gewohnt, dass es keine Verzögerungen gibt. Sobald die Verzögerung größer als eine halbe Sekunde wird, bemerken wir dies und fallen uns gegenseitig ins Wort und können keine natürliche Konversation führen. Ein weiteres Problem ist es, dass viele Menschen nach ihrer Gesprächszeit das Mikrofon auf Stumm stellen.

Lösung:
Nehmt Tempo heraus, sprecht etwas langsamer und lasst möglicherweise geringfügig längere Pausen zwischen einzelnen Sätzen oder Aussagen. Sollte es sich um eine kleinere Gruppe handeln, schaltet die Mikrofone nicht auf stumm, sondern gebt natürliche Zwischenmeldungen in Form von „mmhmm" oder „okay", um dem Gegenüber zu Signalisieren, dass ihr aktiv zuhört.

2. Smalltalk einplanen

Meetings starten normalerweise mit etwas Smalltalk, um die Stimmung zu heben, den persönlichen Kontakt abseits der Business-Fakten herzustellen oder einfach zwischenmenschliche Bindungen aufzubauen. Videokonferenzen sind hingegen meist vom Anfang bis zum Ende durchgetaktet und sind eher Fließbandarbeit statt natürliche Konversation.

Lösung:
Plant etwas Zeit vor dem eigentlichen Meeting ein, steigt früher in den virtuellen Konferenzraum ein und sitzt nicht mit der Stoppuhr vor der Kamera.

3. Schau mir in die Augen

Die persönliche Kommunikation beruht vor allem auf Augenkontakt und der Mimik, die dem Gegenüber viele Rückmeldungen gibt. In Videokonferenzen hingegen sind viele Teilnehmer nebenbei mit anderen Dingen beschäftigt wie etwa E-Mails beantworten, Dokumente bearbeiten oder Ähnlichem. Allein durch diese fehlende Rückmeldung per Blickkontakt reden die meisten Menschen um bis zu 25 Prozent weniger als von Angesicht zu Angesicht.

Lösung:
Widersteht der Versuchung, die Browser-Tabs mit dem Gegenüber der Videokonferenz konkurrieren zu lassen. Konzentriert euch auf das Gespräch, auch wenn ihr aktuell nur Zuhörer seid.

4. Wir sind ein Team!

Remote-Teams, zwischen denen eine große räumliche Distanz herrscht, neigen zu unterschiedlichen Arbeitsweisen. Das führt dazu, dass die Schuld für Probleme oft bei einzelnen Personen statt dem gesamten Team gesucht wird. Das kann Projekte nicht nur ausbremsen, sondern auch für alle Beteiligten sehr frustrierend sein.

Lösung:
Sprecht nicht nur über die Aufgabe und das Ziel, sondern auch über die Herangehensweise. Arbeitet, sofern das möglich ist, auch mithilfe von Videokonferenzen gemeinsam statt jedes Teammitglied für sich alleine.

5. Gib den Redestab weiter

In Schulungen wird gerne das Hilfsmittel des Redestabs verwendet. Was manchen Menschen überflüssig vorkommt, kann tatsächlich auch in einer Videokonferenz sehr wichtig sein, um den Informationsfluss aktiv zu halten. Viele Teilnehmer halten sich ansonsten zurück und durch die fehlende Körpersprache fühlen sich viele nicht aktiv angesprochen. Aktives Ansprechen einzelner Personen statt Monologe oder Dialoge in die große Runde sind sehr viel zielführender.

Lösung:
Sollte es Videokonferenzen mit „Dynamik-Problemen" geben, verwendet die Redestab-Taktik. Der aktive Sprecher sollte den Stab zum Ende an eine andere Person weitergeben und so den Übergang aktiv gestalten.

-
Das ist natürlich alles nur trockene Theorie, aber vielleicht hilft es dem einen oder anderen Team oder einer Einzelperson dabei, die Videokonferenzen - mit denen wir uns vermutlich in Zukunft sehr viel stärker beschäftigen müssen - etwas angenehmer und lebhafter und somit auch produktiver zu gestalten.

[ Google-Blog]

Keine Google-News mehr verpassen: Abonniere den GoogleWatchBlog-Newsletter
GoogleWatchBlog Newsletter abonnieren

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Google gibt Tipps für Videokonferenzen: Darum fühlen sie sich merkwürdig an und das könnt ihr dagegen tun - GWB

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In Zeiten des Home Office sind Videokonferenzen für viele Menschen zum Alltag geworden, die bisher nur selten oder gar nicht auf dieses moderne Kommunikationsmittel angewiesen waren. Die meisten Menschen dürften das Gefühl bestätigen können, dass sich Videokonferenzen „komisch" und vielleicht auch unangenehm anfühlen.

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A secure messenger service hosted in Switzerland.

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Due to COVID-19, many folks are evaluating or using videoconferencing or video chat. This chart compares several popular systems.

Notes

Lifesize has a text chat in the app, but no per-meeting text chat.

With Skype, you can call phones, but you cannot call in to Skype meetings from a phone.

About

No affiliate links or compensation of any kind was involved in the preparation of the guide. Last updated 2020-07-15. Revision 0.9.7. By Paul Schreiber. Research assistance from Jacob Hoffman-Andrews and Yael Grauer. Send suggestions, corrections, to [email protected] . Video Chat by Gregor Cresnar and People by Alice Design from the Noun Project.

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Due to COVID-19, many folks are evaluating or using videoconferencing or video chat. This chart compares several popular systems. Lifesize has a text chat in the app, but no per-meeting text chat. With Skype, you can call phones, but you cannot call in to Skype meetings from a phone.

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Free Video-Conferencing Tool.

Based on Jitsi and hosted in Switzerland

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Das und noch mehr
kann Meet

Mit Hostpoint Meet stellen wir Ihnen ein kostenloses Videokonferenz-System zur Verfügung. Damit verlieren Sie Ihre privaten und geschäftlichen Kontakte nicht aus den Augen.

Kostenlose Video- und Audiokonferenz

Keine Registrierung oder Installation nötig

Integrierte Chatfunktion

Bildschirmfreigabe

Hintergrund unscharf machen

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Hostpoint Meet. Kostenlose Videokonferenzen auf Schweizer Servern

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Mit Hostpoint Meet stellen wir Ihnen ein kostenloses Videokonferenz-System zur Verfügung. Damit verlieren Sie Ihre privaten und geschäftlichen Kontakte nicht aus den Augen. Kostenlose Video- und Audiokonferenz Keine Registrierung oder Installation nötig Integrierte Chatfunktion Bildschirmfreigabe Hintergrund unscharf machen

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„AnyMeeting encryption enables HIPAA-compliance using WebRTC standards with SSL and DTLS for signaling, and SRTP protocols for all data and media.“

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Intermedia AnyMeeting ™ is a powerful online meeting solution built for businesses of all sizes. Our easy to use meeting experience is available on desktop and mobile devices so that you can have reliable, stress free meetings anywhere, anytime. With the highest HD audio and video quality, interactive collaboration tools and artificial intelligence capabilities, AnyMeeting transforms communications with a smarter, faster, engaging and actionable meetings experience.

Benefits of Video Conferencing

Easy-to-use

No on-boarding or training required. Start and join meetings in seconds.

Exceptional Value

All the features you need at a fraction of the competition's price. We make it affordable for your entire team to host great online meetings.

Increase Productivity

Screen sharing, integrated audio options and HD video cameras, meeting transcription and more.

Meet Anywhere

Host and join meetings wherever you go with the AnyMeeting desktop and mobile apps.

Video Conferencing Features

Built in collaboration tools make it easy for participants to share content for more interactive and productive meetings in real-time.

Check out these Quick Links to get the most out of your AnyMeeting experience.

Security

AnyMeeting encryption enables HIPAA-compliance using WebRTC standards with SSL and DTLS for signaling, and SRTP protocols for all data and media.

Video Conferencing Pricing

All the features your business needs to succeed.
Priced for exceptional value.

Compare all plans and features →

AnyMeeting Starter

$0 per user/per month

AnyMeeting Lite

$9.99 per user/per month

AnyMeeting Pro

$12.99 per user/per month

* Applicable to conference calling only.

J.D. POWER

2019
CERTIFIED ASSISTED TECHNICAL SUPPORT

AnyMeeting is backed by Intermedia's J.D. Power-Certified Support.
Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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Intermedia AnyMeeting Video Conferencing Solution Provider | Intermedia

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Intermedia AnyMeeting ™ is a powerful online meeting solution built for businesses of all sizes. Our easy to use meeting experience is available on desktop and mobile devices so that you can have reliable, stress free meetings anywhere, anytime.

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„Built with TeamViewer security, Blizz is ISO2001 certified, with 256Bit end-to-end encryption, protecting sessions from prying eyes.“

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Global Team Collaboration

Feel connected across remote offices and international borders-Blizz enables your remote teams to work together faster. Beat deadlines and polish your projects in the context of instant chats and video sessions, while cutting costs along the way.

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Blizz by TeamViewer - Global Team Collaboration | Video Meetings | VoIP

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Collaborate with co-workers and clients, connect with friends and family, with 1-click video conferencing, screen sharing, VoIP, and team chat messaging. Secure data encryption keeps web meetings, calls, and chats private. Try Blizz free, the affordable online meeting solution for entrepreneurs, SMBs, and enterprises.

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Jitsi is a collection of free and open-source multiplatform voice, videoconferencing and instant messaging applications for the web platform, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android.

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JaaS: the Team that Builds Jitsi Can Now Also Run it for You! Start now

JaaS: the Team that Builds Jitsi Can Now Also Run it for You! Start now

What's going on? Starting on August 24th, we will no longer support the anonymous creation of rooms on meet.jit.si, and will require the use of an account (we will be supporting Google, GitHub and Facebook [...]

Flutter's initial release occurred in 2017, the same year as the introduction of our mobile apps and mobile SDKs. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Flutter is one of the most popular frameworks for [...]

Ever since we introduced our mobile apps to the world back in 2017 they have been backed by React Native. Using React Native allowed us to reach feature parity quickly since all logic is shared [...]

Italian Schools Using WeSchool Platform Based on 8×8's Jitsi for Distance Learning.

LangSciPress @LangSciPress

Somewhat unexpected, but we now run our own videoconferencing software, #Jitsi It is 100% privacy friendly, 100% open source and runs on our own servers.

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Free Video Conferencing Software for Web & Mobile | Jitsi

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Learn more about Jitsi, a free open-source video conferencing software for web & mobile. Make a call, launch on your own servers, integrate into your app, and more.

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Callaba - Secure free Video Conferencing Tool

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Callaba - Secure free Video Conferencing Tool

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The tool is supposed to be secure, free and can be used without registration. Easy to use with screensharing. Worth a try....

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Secure meetings are just a few clicks away

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Free video & audio calls, you don't need any additional downloads. Free skype alternatives and zoom alternatives.

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(in german)

In english check here: https://area9lyceum.com/use-cases/courses/

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For more than 20 years, Area9 Lyceum has been dedicated to helping our partners and clients find the best solution to deliver personalized learning at scale.

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Executive Summary

With the Covid-19 epidemic, many employees - and their managers - are finding themselves working out of the office and separated from each other for the first time. Fortunately, there are specific, research-based steps that managers can take without great effort to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees, even when there is little time to prepare. First, it's important to understand the common challenges, from isolation to distractions to lack of face-to-face supervision. Then managers can support remote workers with 1) regular, structured check-ins; 2) multiple communication options (and established norms for each; 3) opportunities for social interactions; and 4) ongoing encouragement and emotional support.

Ada Yakota/Getty Images

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In response to the uncertainties presented by Covid-19, many companies and universities have asked their employees to work remotely. While close to a quarter of the U.S. workforce already works from home at least part of the time, the new policies leave many employees - and their managers - working out of the office and separated from each other for the first time.

Although it is always preferable to establish clear remote-work policies and training in advance, in times of crisis or other rapidly changing circumstances, this level of preparation may not be feasible. Fortunately, there are specific, research-based steps that managers can take without great effort to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees, even when there is little time to prepare.

Common Challenges of Remote Work

To start, managers need to understand factors that can make remote work especially demanding. Otherwise high-performing employees may experience declines in job performance and engagement when they begin working remotely, especially in the absence of preparation and training. Challenges inherent in remote work include:

Lack of face-to-face supervision: Both managers and their employees often express concerns about the lack of face-to-face interaction. Supervisors worry that employees will not work as hard or as efficiently (though research indicates otherwise, at least for some types of jobs). Many employees, on the other hand, struggle with reduced access to managerial support and communication. In some cases, employees feel that remote managers are out of touch with their needs, and thereby are neither supportive nor helpful in getting their work done.

Lack of access to information: Newly remote workers are often surprised by the added time and effort needed to locate information from coworkers. Even getting answers to what seem like simple questions can feel like a large obstacle to a worker based at home.

This phenomenon extends beyond task-related work to interpersonal challenges that can emerge among remote coworkers. Research has found that a lack of "mutual knowledge" among remote workers translates to a lower willingness to give coworkers the benefit of the doubt in difficult situations. For example, if you know that your officemate is having a rough day, you will view a brusque email from them as a natural product of their stress. However, if you receive this email from a remote coworker, with no understanding of their current circumstances, you are more likely to take offense, or at a minimum to think poorly of your coworker's professionalism.

Social isolation: Loneliness is one of the most common complaints about remote work, with employees missing the informal social interaction of an office setting. It is thought that extraverts may suffer from isolation more in the short run, particularly if they do not have opportunities to connect with others in their remote-work environment. However, over a longer period of time, isolation can cause any employee to feel less "belonging" to their organization, and can even result in increased intention to leave the company.

Distractions at home: We often see photos representing remote work which portray a parent holding a child and typing on a laptop, often sitting on a sofa or living-room floor. In fact, this is a terrible representation of effective virtual work. Typically, we encourage employers to ensure that their remote workers have both dedicated workspace and adequate childcare before allowing them to work remotely. Yet, in the case of a sudden transition to virtual work, there is a much greater chance that employees will be contending with suboptimal workspaces and (in the case of school and daycare closures) unexpected parenting responsibilities. Even in normal circumstances family and home demands can impinge on remote work; managers should expect these distractions to be greater during this unplanned work-from-home transition.

How Managers Can Support Remote Employees

As much as remote work can be fraught with challenges, there are also relatively quick and inexpensive things that managers can do to ease the transition. Actions that you can take today include:

Establish structured daily check-ins: Many successful remote managers establish a daily call with their remote employees. This could take the form of a series of one-on-one calls, if your employees work more independently from each other, or a team call, if their work is highly collaborative. The important feature is that the calls are regular and predictable, and that they are a forum in which employees know that they can consult with you, and that their concerns and questions will be heard.

Provide several different communication technology options: Email alone is insufficient. Remote workers benefit from having a "richer" technology, such as video conferencing, that gives participants many of the visual cues that they would have if they were face-to-face. Video conferencing has many advantages, especially for smaller groups: Visual cues allow for increased "mutual knowledge" about coworkers and also help reduce the sense of isolation among teams. Video is also particularly useful for complex or sensitive conversations, as it feels more personal than written or audio-only communication.

There are other circumstances when quick collaboration is more important than visual detail. For these situations, provide mobile-enabled individual messaging functionality (like Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc.) which can be used for simpler, less formal conversations, as well as time-sensitive communication.

If your company doesn't have technology tools already in place, there are inexpensive ways to obtain simple versions of these tools for your team, as a short-term fix. Consult with your organization's IT department to ensure there is an appropriate level of data security before using any of these tools.

And then establish "rules of engagement": Remote work becomes more efficient and satisfying when managers set expectations for the frequency, means, and ideal timing of communication for their teams. For example, "We use videoconferencing for daily check-in meetings, but we use IM when something is urgent." Also, if you can, let your employees know the best way and time to reach you during the workday (e.g., "I tend to be more available late in the day for ad hoc phone or video conversations, but if there's an emergency earlier in the day, send me a text.") Finally, keep an eye on communication among team members (to the extent appropriate), to ensure that they are sharing information as needed.

We recommend that managers establish these "rules of engagement" with employees as soon as possible, ideally during the first online check-in meeting. While some choices about specific expectations may be better than others, the most important factor is that all employees share the same set of expectations for communication.

Provide opportunities for remote social interaction: One of the most essential steps a manager can take is to structure ways for employees to interact socially (that is, have informal conversations about non-work topics) while working remotely. This is true for all remote workers, but particularly so for workers who have been abruptly transitioned out of the office.

The easiest way to establish some basic social interaction is to leave some time at the beginning of team calls just for non-work items (e.g., "We're going to spend the first few minutes just catching up with each other. How was your weekend?"). Other options include virtual pizza parties (in which pizza is delivered to all team members at the time of a videoconference), or virtual office parties (in which party "care packages" can be sent in advance to be opened and enjoyed simultaneously). While these types of events may sound artificial or forced, experienced managers of remote workers (and the workers themselves) report that virtual events help reduce feelings of isolation, promoting a sense of belonging.

Offer encouragement and emotional support: Especially in the context of an abrupt shift to remote work, it is important for managers to acknowledge stress, listen to employees' anxieties and concerns, and empathize with their struggles. If a newly remote employee is clearly struggling but not communicating stress or anxiety, ask them how they're doing. Even a general question such as "How is this remote work situation working out for you so far?" can elicit important information that you might not otherwise hear. Once you ask the question, be sure to listen carefully to the response, and briefly restate it back to the employee, to ensure that you understood correctly. Let the employee's stress or concerns (rather than your own) be the focus of this conversation.

Research on emotional intelligence and emotional contagion tells us that employees look to their managers for cues about how to react to sudden changes or crisis situations. If a manager communicates stress and helplessness, this will have what Daniel Goleman calls a "trickle-down" effect on employees. Effective leaders take a two-pronged approach, both acknowledging the stress and anxiety that employees may be feeling in difficult circumstances, but also providing affirmation of their confidence in their teams, using phrases such as "we've got this," or "this is tough, but I know we can handle it," or "let's look for ways to use our strengths during this time." With this support, employees are more likely to take up the challenge with a sense of purpose and focus.

We'll add our own note of encouragement to managers facing remote work for the first time: you've got this. Let us know in the comments your own tips for managing your remote employees.

If our content helps you to contend with coronavirus and other challenges, please consider subscribing to HBR. A subscription purchase is the best way to support the creation of these resources.

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A Guide to Managing Your (Newly) Remote Workers

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Executive Summary With the Covid-19 epidemic, many employees - and their managers - are finding themselves working out of the office and separated from each other for the first time. Fortunately, there are specific, research-based steps that managers can take without great effort to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees, even when there is little time to prepare.

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Another MAJOR Tool Collection by Robin Good

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Another MAJOR Tool Collection by Robin Good

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★★★ The best tools, web apps and services for online collaboration. 700+ tools hand-picked and organized in 40+ categories.

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Kollaborative Kreativität

OBS Studio ist mit einer umfangreichen API augestattet, die es Plugin-Entwicklern ermöglicht, die Software noch weiter anzupassen und eigene Funktionen zu integrieren. Arbeiten Sie mit Entwicklern in der Streaming-Community zusammen, um die Funktionen zu erhalten, die Sie benötigen.

Browse or submit your own in the Resources section

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OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming. Stream to Twitch, YouTube and many other providers or record your own videos with high quality H264 / AAC encoding.

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Mevo Start Camera | Livestreaming Made Easy

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Mevo Start is a dedicated live streaming camera capable of streaming in 1080p directly to popular sites like YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Periscope, and more. Controlled by the Mevo App, you can stream, record, live edit, and zoom all from your phone. Learn more at mevo.com

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Digitaler Video-Mixer (Rec+Stream) Blackmagic Atem mini (PRO)

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Digitaler Video-Mixer (Rec+Stream) Blackmagic Atem mini (PRO)

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Bezahlbare Multicam- und Liveproduktionen mit erweiterten Broadcast-Funktionen

Mit ATEM Mini Mischern ist es ein Leichtes, professionelle Mehrkameraproduktionen zum Livestreamen auf YouTube oder für innovative Geschäftspräsentationen über Zoom, Teams oder Skype zu gestalten. Einfach einen ATEM Mini anschließen und schon können Sie für erheblich bessere Bildqualität bis zu acht hochwertige Videokameraeingaben live mischen. Man kann auch Spielekonsolen oder für PowerPoint-Präsentationen einen Computer anschließen. Mit dem mischerinternen DVE-Prozessor können Sie spannende Bild-im-Bild-Effekte gestalten. Genau das Richtige für Livekommentar! Es sind auch haufenweise Videoeffekte verfügbar. Im ATEM Mini ist eine Hardware-Streaming-Engine verbaut. Damit streamen Sie live über Ethernet oder den USB-Anschluss, der gleichzeitig als Webcam fungiert. ATEM Mini Mischer warten sogar mit erweiterten Broadcast-Features für Highend-Produktionen auf. Jetzt online kaufen

Flinkere Videoproduktion plus Livestreaming

Eine Liveproduktion ist der schnellste Weg zur fertigen Sendung. Zugleich können Sie über YouTube alles live an ein weltweites Publikum streamen. ATEM Mini Modelle verfügen über eine Hardware-Streaming-Engine, die mit jeder Streaming-Software funktioniert. Streamen Sie daher direkt über Ethernet an populäre Social-Media-Plattformen! Je nach Modell ermöglichen bis zu acht HDMI-Eingänge den Anschluss mehrerer Kameras, um verschiedene Perspektiven und Nahaufnahmen von allen Mitwirkenden zu erfassen. Dann brauchen Sie bloß noch einen Computer für PowerPoint-Präsentationen oder Webseiten oder eine Spielekonsole anzuschließen. Da alle Mischvorgänge in Echtzeit erfolgen, können Sie Ihre Sendung unmittelbar an Plattformen wie YouTube, Facebook, Twitch und viele mehr streamen.

Vier klasse ATEM Mini Modelle

ATEM Mini Pro

Leistungsstarker Livemischer mit vier HDMI-Eingängen, Hardware-Streaming-Engine, Aufzeichnung auf USB-Speicher, USB-Webcam-Ausgang, Audiomixer, 2D-DVE-Prozessor, Übergängen, Greenscreen-Chromakeyer, 20 Standbildern für Titel und mehr!

ATEM Mini Pro ISO

Dieses Modell verfügt über die gleichen Funktionen wie der ATEM Mini Pro plus Aufzeichnung von 5 Clean-Feeds aller eingehenden Streams. Fürs Finishing in Ultra HD wird ein DaVinci Resolve Projekt angelegt, das man bearbeiten und mit den Blackmagic-RAW-Dateien verknüpfen kann.

ATEM Mini Extreme

Dieses wahrhaft professionelle Modell bietet insgesamt 8 HDMI-Eingänge, einen Multiviewer mit 16 Ansichten, 4 ATEM Advanced Chroma Keyer, SuperSource mit 4 zusätzlichen DVE, 2 HDMI-Ausgänge, 2 USB-Anschlüsse und ein leistungsfähigeres Bedienfeld.

Fix erlernt und einfach bedient

In puncto Bedienfreundlichkeit suchen diese Mischer vergebens ihresgleichen. Drücken Sie für Schnitte zwischen Videoquellen einfach eine der nummerierten Eingabetasten auf dem Bedienfeld. Wählen Sie zwischen Hartschnitten und Effektübergängen, indem Sie die „Cut"- oder die „Auto"-Taste drücken. Im Unterschied zur „Cut"-Taste, wendet der ATEM Mini bei Einsatz der „Auto"-Taste beim Umschalten zwischen Eingaben einen speziellen Videoeffekt an. Zur Wahl stehen hierfür tolle Übergänge wie Überblendungen oder noch spannendere Effekte wie Dip-to-Color, DVE-Squeeze und DVE-Push. Fügen Sie einen DVE-Effekt für Bild-im-Bild-Effekte mit beliebig positionierbaren Fenstern und individuellem Hintergrund ein. Es gibt sogar als Standbildspeicher fungierende Media Player zum Laden von Titeln und Grafiken über die externe Software-Bedienoberfläche.

Liveinterviews streamen

Der ATEM Mini ist wie gemacht für Interviews. Für Totalen und Close-ups von Gästen oder Interviewpartnern sind Anschlüsse für mehrere Kameras vorhanden. Und am superkompakten ATEM Mini können Moderatoren und Moderatorinnen sogar in kleinen Studios eigenhändig schneiden. Noch dazu unterstützt die integrierte Streaming-Funktion des ATEM Mini das Live-Streaming an YouTube, Facebook und andere Plattformen.

Videoausgabe über HDMI- und USB-Webcam-Ports

Um Ihnen maximale Kompatibilität zu bieten, haben alle ATEM Mini Modelle einen USB-Port an Bord, der als simple Webcam-Quelle fungiert. Einfach an einen Computer anschließen und die Arbeit mit beliebigen Videosoftwares aufnehmen! Die Software liest ATEM Minis als gewöhnliche Webcam, obwohl es sich in Wirklichkeit um einen Live-Produktionsmischer handelt. Dies garantiert vollständige Kompatibilität mit jeder Videosoftware in voller 1080HD-Auflösungsqualität. Benutzen Sie Ihre bevorzugte Software wie Zoom, Microsoft Teams oder Skype, um sendetaugliche Präsentationen professionell im Multicam-Stil zu gestalten. Der Webcam-Ausgang von ATEM Minis ist auch mit Streaming-Softwares wie Open Broadcaster, XSplit Broadcaster und weiteren kompatibel.

Nutzen Sie mobile Daten von 5G- oder 4G-Handys

Für Liveproduktionen on Location unterstützt der ATEM Mini mobile Datenverbindungen mit Apple oder Android Handys über den USB-Port. Zugleich ist das eine tolle Backup-Option zur Haupt-Ethernet-Verbindung. Das Tethering funktioniert mit den neuesten Mobiltelefonen für 5G-Geschwindigkeit sowie mit anderen gängigen 4G-Handys. Der ATEM Mischer erkennt ein per USB angeschlossenes Handy automatisch und greift auf seine Internetverbindung zu. Das erspart Anwendern das Ändern von Einstellungen. Solange das Mobiltelefon verbunden ist, zieht es Strom vom USB-Port und wird vom Mischer aufgeladen. Die Tethering-Möglichkeit mit mobilen Daten macht aus ATEM Mini Mischern die perfekte mobile Produktionslösung.

Aufzeichnen auf USB-Flashspeicher

Der ATEM Mini unterstützt auch die Direktaufzeichnung Ihrer Streaming-Daten auf USB-Flashspeicher. Das ermöglicht sehr lange Aufzeichnungszeiten von Dateien im selben H.264-Videoformat mit AAC-Audio, das auch gestreamt wurde. Diese Dateien lassen sich anschließend ratzfatz auf jedes beliebige Videoportal wie YouTube oder Vimeo hochladen. Unterstützung für Aufzeichnungen auf mehrere Laufwerke bieten ein USB-Hub oder eine Blackmagic MultiDock. Ist ein Laufwerk voll, wird für unterbrechungsfreies Aufzeichnen auf das nächste zugegriffen. Die Einstellungen für die Aufzeichnung und die Datenträgerauswahl erfolgen in ATEM Software Control. Eine Anzeige für den Aufzeichnungsstatus bietet der integrierte Multiviewer. Sie können sogar die Aufzeichnung auf angeschlossenen Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Cameras aus der Ferne auslösen.

Zwei leistungsstarke ISO-Modelle zeichnen alle Eingaben für den Schnitt auf!

ATEM Mini Pro ISO

Dieses Modell bietet neben allen Features des ATEM Mini Pro zudem die Möglichkeit, fünf H.264-Videostreams in Echtzeit aufzuzeichnen. Nämlich einen Clean-Feed von allen Eingängen plus Liveprogramm. Weil auch ein DaVinci Resolve Projekt mitgespeichert wird, können Sie Ihre Liveproduktion gleich öffnen und Schnitte anpassen, den Ton neu mischen und Colorgrading vornehmen.

ATEM Mini Extreme ISO

Dieses Modell umfasst alle Funktionen des ATEM Mini Extreme und kann zusätzlich neun separate H.264-Videostreams in Echtzeit aufzeichnen. Neben dem Programmvideo können Sie also acht Clean-Feeds erfassen. Um das Projekt wiederherzustellen und nachträglich zu bearbeiten, wird auch eine DaVinci Resolve Projektdatei mitgespeichert.

Liveproduktionen in DaVinci Resolve schneiden

Die ISO-Modelle speichern Ihre Liveproduktionen außerdem als DaVinci Resolve Projektdateien, die sich mit einem Klick als Videoschnitt öffnen lassen. Alle Hartschnitte, Überblendungen und verwendete Grafiken aus dem Media Pool werden automatisch mitgeladen. Dies ermöglicht Verfeinerungen von Schnittmarken oder selbst den kompletten Austausch von Shots. Mithilfe der „Sync Bin"-Funktion in DaVinci Resolve lassen sich in der Mehrfachansicht einfach neue Einstellungen auswählen. Für professionelles Colorgrading und Finishing in Ultra HD können Sie sogar wieder auf die Blackmagic-RAW-Dateien aus der Kamera zurückgreifen, indem Sie diese mit dem Projekt verknüpfen.

Erfahren Sie mehr über DaVinci Resolve >Demoprojekt herunterladen >

Hingucker-Videoeffekte

Zu den Vorzügen von ATEM Minis gehören u. a. die professionellen Production Values, die Sie mit vielfältigen integrierten Videoeffekten erzielen können. Die „Cut"-Taste bewirkt beim Umschalten zwischen Quellen einen sofortigen Bildschnitt. Der Name der „Auto"-Taste stammt aus der Profiwelt der großen Broadcast-Bildmischer. Sie ermöglicht das Ausführen von Effektblenden. Entsprechende Tasten für die Dauer ermöglichen es, für Videoeffekte Intervalle von 0,5, 1, 1,5 oder 2 Sekunden vorzugeben. Auch die Art des Effekts können Sie bestimmen. Mit einem Mix geben Sie bspw. einen glatten Übergang zwischen Quellen vor, bei einem Dip-Effekt wird vor dem Übergang kurz eine Farbe eingeblendet. Oder verwenden Sie unterhaltsame DVE-Effekte, die sich bei Übergängen zwischen Quellen über den Bildschirm ins Aus bewegen.

DVE für Bild-im-Bild, Übergänge und Effekte

Eine der aufregendsten Features von ATEM Minis ist ihr digitaler Videoeffektprozessor, kurz DVE, für Bild-im-Bild-Effekte und verrückte DVE-Übergänge. Kreieren Sie mittels DVE professionelle Bild-im-Bild-Effekte mit individualisierbaren 3D-Rahmen, Schatten und Beleuchtung. Die Bildqualität ist ebenso hochwertig wie die von ATEM Mischermodellen aus dem Topsegment. Der DVE unterstützt die Platzierung, Größenanpassung und Skalierung von Effekten - alles in Echtzeit. Mit dem DVE können Sie zudem fesselnde Übergänge mit 16 verschiedenen Squeeze- und Push-Effekten basteln und damit Ihr Programm aufpeppen. Die Fly-Key-Funktion des DVE befähigt Sie, Wischblenden mit eigens erstellten Grafiken zu kreieren.

Professionelle Broadcast-Übergänge

ATEM Minis stellen vielerlei native HD-Übergänge wie Mixe, Dips und Wischblenden in Sendequalität bereit. Alle Übergänge können durch Anpassen von Parametern wie Dauer, Rahmenfarbe und -breite, Platzierung und Richtung individualisiert werden. Sie können mit dem DVE erstellte Effekte auch für Übergänge verwenden, bspw. um eine Grafik über den Rand einer Wischblende zu schieben. Derartige Grafik-Wipes kommen oft bei Sportprogrammen zum Einsatz. Um Patzer zu vermeiden, kommen ATEM Minis mit einer Vorschaufunktion für Übergänge. Darüber prüfen Sie Ihre Übergänge, ehe Sie sie auf Sendung bringen.

Kreieren Sie umwerfende virtuelle Sets

Die ATEM Mini Extreme Modelle bieten vier Upstream-Chromakeyer, was Ihnen den Bau spannender virtueller Sets gestattet. Das macht einen unabhängigen Chromakeyer pro Kamera für ein virtuelles Set mit bis zu vier Kameras. Mit dem ATEM Mini Extreme stehen Ihnen acht Eingänge zur Verfügung: Bspw. vier für die Kameras und vier weitere zum Anschließen von Computern zum Rendern von Hintergründen für das virtuelle Set. Wenn Sie Ihre Kameras nicht bewegen möchten, können Sie virtuelle Sets auch mit fixen Kameras erstellen, indem Sie zuvor gerenderte Standbildhintergründe aus den Mediaplayern und dem Media Pool laden. Mit Makros lassen sich Kameras umschalten und die passenden Hintergründe in die Media Player laden. Alternativ können Sie sogar eine DeckLink Quad HDMI und Software für virtuelle Livesets einsetzen.

Mächtige Verarbeitung per SuperSource

Zusätzlich zu den beiden in den ATEM Mini Extreme Modellen verbauten unabhängigen DVE-Prozessoren, gibt es den leistungsstarken SuperSource-Multilayer-Prozessor. Er bietet Anwendern vier weitere DVE-Ebenen sowie eine Hintergrundebene, die auf dem ATEM Mini Extreme alle als zusätzliche Eingabequellen angezeigt werden. Für SuperSource-DVE kann jeder beliebige Videoeingang des ATEM Mini Extreme dienen. Über einen benutzerdefinierten Hintergrund im Media Pool werden dann alle Ebenen zusammengefügt. Wenn Sie den Effekt schon vor der Liveschaltung einrichten, stehen für andere Aufgaben trotzdem noch beide Haupt-DVE zur Verfügung. Daher ist SuperSource bei Interviews mit mehreren Personen ideal für Bild-im-Bild-Anzeigen. SuperSource kommt einem zusätzlichen eingebauten Multilayer-VFX-Mischer gleich.

Integrierter Audiomixer mit 6-Band-EQ, Kompressor und Limiter

Der in ATEM Minis verbaute Fairlight Audiomixer macht selbst hochgradig komplexes Live-Audiomischen möglich. Der interne Mischer bietet ausreichend Kanäle für alle HDMI-Eingaben, sodass Sie den Ton von allen Quellen mischen können. Gemeint ist damit das von allen HDMI-Quellen und den beiden Stereo-Mikrofonbuchsen eingehende Audio. Jeder Eingabekanal verfügt über einen parametrischen 6-Band-EQ, Kompressor, Limiter, Expander, Noise Gate sowie volles Panning. Mit Audio-folgt-Video (AFV) kann man die Software sogar auf automatisches Mischen beim Umschalten von Eingaben einstellen oder gleichzeitig mehrere Quellen in Echtzeit mixen. Steuern können Sie all diese Audiopower per Computer über ATEM Software Control, ein Mackie-kompatibles Tonmischpult oder eine riesige Fairlight Audiokonsole.

ATEM Camera Control Panel

ATEM 1 M/E Advanced Panel

Kameraabgleich mit einem ATEM Camera Control Panel

Bei Liveproduktionen ist ein perfekter Farbabgleich zwischen allen Kameras erfolgskritisch, da ein einheitlicher Look bei Schnitten zwischen Kameras und Übergängen allein mit stimmigen Farben gelingt. Rüsten Sie über die Bediensoftware hinaus auf ein ATEM Camera Control Panel hoch und steuern Sie damit alle vier mit Ihrem ATEM Mini verbundenen Kameras. Jeder einzelne Kamera-Controller der CCU-Einheit bietet ein großes LCD mit zugehörigen Softtasten und Reglern und einem kompletten Satz professioneller Bedienelemente zum Anpassen der Kameras im Echtzeitbetrieb. Diese zeigen Ihnen die Kameraparameter auf das Präziseste an. Anhand des handlichen, drehbaren Joysticks für jeden Controller können Blende und Schwarzwert unmittelbar justiert werden. Zum Feinabstimmen der Farbtönung stehen dort für jeden Farbkanal sogar ein Rot-, Grün- und Blauregler bereit.

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Mit ATEM Mini Mischern ist es ein Leichtes, professionelle Mehrkameraproduktionen zum Livestreamen auf YouTube oder für innovative Geschäftspräsentationen über Zoom, Teams oder Skype zu gestalten. Einfach einen ATEM Mini anschließen und schon können Sie für erheblich bessere Bildqualität bis zu acht hochwertige Videokameraeingaben live mischen. Man kann auch Spielekonsolen oder für PowerPoint-Präsentationen einen Computer anschließen.

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Open Source Collaboration Apps - Sandstorm

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Open Source Collaboration Apps - Sandstorm

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Self-host web-based productivity apps easily and securely.

Sandstorm is an open source project built by a community of volunteers with the goal of making it really easy to run open source web applications -- either on your own private server, or on our community-run servers.

Chat

Sync up with your colleagues securely using Rocket.Chat.

File Storage

Store all your files and share them with others using Davros.

Task & Project Management

Organize all your tasks and ideas using Wekan.

Document Editing

Create, edit, and collaborate on documents with Etherpad.

How is it different?

Installing apps on Sandstorm is as easy as installing apps on your phone.

Find any app you want on the App Market and start using it with a few clicks. Every app comes with automatic updates.

All your apps and data in one place, with consistent access control.

Sandstorm keeps a list so you can find everything you create. Sandstorm's unified access control system covers data from every app, and everything is private to you by default.

Sandstorm protects you. Each document, chat room, mail box, notebook, blog, or anything else you create is a "grain" in Sandstorm. Sandstorm containerizes each one in its own secure sandbox from which it cannot talk to the world without express permission. All your grains are private until you share them. The result is that 95% of security vulnerabilities are automatically mitigated.

Skeptical? Learn more about Sandstorm's security model and security non-events.

Sandstorm makes it easy to adhere to security, regulatory, and data privacy requirements. Sandstorm manages access control on every document, so it can show who has access and allow you to revoke that access at any time. Self-hosting Sandstorm enables organizations to have complete control over where their data is stored.

You choose where your data lives: You can use Sandstorm in the cloud on a variety of hosting services, or you can install it on your own machines. You can even move between these options at any time. No matter where you decide to run Sandstorm, the apps are the same.

With Sandstorm, you do not get locked into walled gardens. You can mix and match apps from multiple developers with ease, and even throw in apps of your own as needed. Many Sandstorm apps are open source, which means you can modify them to suit you needs.

Who is it for?

Individuals

Sandstorm makes it safe & easy to use open source web apps. It adds security hardening and protects your privacy. Apps never disappear, and you can add your own. Run your own server or use our hosting.

Businesses

Sandstorm lets you keep all your company's data in one place, rather than scattered across dozens of web apps. At the same time, it lets each team in your company choose their own tools and deploy applications to meet their needs, without having to file tickets and wait for support from other teams. This makes your employees more productive while keeping your data safe and under control.

Developers

Ship your code as a Sandstorm app package and don't worry about how to run a service or scale it up. On Sandstorm, independent developers, hobbyists, and open source projects can build quality applications that people can actually use, without worrying about how to run a service.

This page was hand-crafted using only the finest web technologies.

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Sandstorm is an open source project built by a community of volunteers with the goal of making it really easy to run open source web applications -- either on your own private server, or on our community-run servers. Sync up with your colleagues securely using Rocket.Chat.

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Open Source Video-Conferencing Big Blue Button

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Open Source Video-Conferencing Big Blue Button

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BigBlueButton - Open Source Web Conferencing

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Virtual Classroom Software | BigBlueButton

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BigBlueButton is an open source virtual classroom software. This platform was developed for virtual learning and education. Try it today!

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A german platform with over 80  learning nuggets (mostly in German though) about: digitalization, leadership, communication, skills, tools, etc. Free until 30.09.2020.

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Als Weiterbildungsanbieter unterstützen wir Sie in dieser Krise und stellen Ihnen unser Digitales Lernpaket kostenfrei zur Verfügung. So können Sie die Krise zur Chance machen.

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Hosted in Germany.

I never used this tool, but perhaps it's worth a try. :)

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Kostenlose Webinar „Einführung in YuLinc HTML5" Ein virtuelles Klassenzimmer, ein Webinar oder ein Online Meeting - Laden Sie mit...

YuLinc - das richtige System für Ihr Webinar, virtuelles Klassenzimmer und WebMeeting! YuLinc ist webbasiert und läuft auf verschiedensten...

„Virtuelle Räume - einfach und simpel ... angefangen beim Betreten einer virtuellen Session bis hin zur Bedienung der Funktionalitäten."...

Ob Virtual Classroom, Webmeeting oder Webinar: netucate eignet sich für alle Formen der virtuellen Räume. Teilnehmen kann jeder mit einem Desktop-Rechner, Notebook, Tablet einem Smartphone, egal ob Windows, MacOS, IOS, Android und Linux genutzt wird.

Datenschutz wird bei der netucate groß geschrieben. Eine hochverfügbare und sichere Serverfarm mit dem Standort in Deutschland. Ihre Daten unterliegen dem deutschen Datenschutz.

netucate stellt nicht nur virtuelle Räume zur Verfügung. Unsere Kunden erhalten einen erstklassischen Support. Daneben gehören Trainings, Integration in Ihre Infrastruktur, in Ihr Learning Management System usw. zu unseren Dienstleistungen.

Die netucate systems GmbH bietet die Möglichkeit virtuelle Räume in Form von Webinare, Webinar virtuelles Klassenzimmer Webmeeting usw. durchzuführen. Dabei liegt der Focus in der Bereitstellung einer umfassenden und modernen Lösung, die von den Kunden gemietet werden kann. Um ein optimales Lernergebnis zu erzielen, bedarf es eines umfassenden Medienangebots, kombiniert mit einem hohen Grad an Interaktion und ergänzenden Tools für Polls, Feedback, Test, Teilnahme und vieles mehr. Mit YuLinc erfüllt netucate diesen Anspruch. Ob PC oder Mac, Tablet oder Smartphone mit iOS oder Android, YuLinc ist auf allen Systemen verfügbar. Ohne Installation. Eine hochverfügbare und sichere Serverfarm mit dem Standort in Deutschland. Kundendaten unterliegen dem deutschen Datenschutz. YuLinc kann in viele Learning Management Systemen integriert werden: Mit einer speziell entwickelten Middleware von netucate ist dies ohne großen Aufwand möglich. Webinar virtuelles Klassenzimmer Webmeeting

Zum Ändern Ihrer Datenschutzeinstellung, z.B. Erteilung oder Widerruf von Einwilligungen, klicken Sie hier: Einstellungen

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Die netucate systems GmbH bietet die Möglichkeit virtuelle Räume in Form von Webinare, Webinar virtuelles Klassenzimmer Webmeeting usw. durchzuführen. Dabei liegt der Focus in der Bereitstellung einer umfassenden und modernen Lösung, die von den Kunden gemietet werden kann. Um ein optimales Lernergebnis zu erzielen, bedarf es eines umfassenden Medienangebots, kombiniert mit einem hohen Grad an [...]

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More secure Remote Working & Learning Tools

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https://experience.sap.com/designservices/resources/scenes

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“Scenes” is a tool and method for storyboarding created by the SAP AppHaus  team. It helps multidisciplinary teams to communicate their ideas and scenarios in the form of storyboards quickly and without having to worry at all about their drawing skills. But that’s not all! It also empowers people to build their stories with others, and to quite literally put their ideas “on the table”.
“Scenes” includes a set of pre-defined illustrations that can be combined physically or digitally in scenes to create visually appealing stories.

Want to try it out? Visit experience.sap.com/designservices/scenes
Twitter: @SAP_designs
LinkedIn: SAP Design Services
Facebook: facebook.com/AppHausHD

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"The most secure cloud in Europe for SMEs and private individuals

Infomaniak Drive is a privacy-friendly solution that allows you to collaborate and access your data from all your devices."

I started using this service in March 2020 and find it pretty valuable so far. It has some powerful collaboration features as well.

Made and hosted in Switzerland.

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kDrive – Die 100% Swiss Made Collaboration-Speicherlösung

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Travaillez, collaborez et synchronisez vos donnees en toute securite dans un cloud ethique. Applications incluses : Docs, Grids & Points

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"Share your work - Send up to 50 GB securely for free."

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SwissTransfer.com - Send large files securely and free of charge

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Swiss Transfer is the safest and easiest way to securely share files worldwide .

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"Simplify your online life.

LastPass remembers all your passwords across every device for free!"

I'm using the free version of LastPass since at least 4 years and it works pretty good so far.

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The Future is Passwordless

And the future is now. Instantly access the sites and applications in your LastPass vault with the LastPass Authenticator. No master password required.

Personal

Secure every one of your passwords and store them across all of your devices.

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LastPass removes obstacles, letting you get back to the things you love most.

Log in and go

Once you save a password in LastPass, you'll always have it when you need it; logging in is fast and easy.

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Gain instant access to your LastPass vault by using the LastPass Authenticator instead of your master password.

Generate strong passwords

The built-in password generator creates long, randomized passwords that protect against hacking.

Store digital records

Insurance cards, memberships, Wi-Fi passwords... keep all your notes safe and easy to find.

Share effortlessly

Some things shouldn't be sent in a text. Conveniently and safely share passwords and notes with anyone.

Dark web monitoring

Stop worrying about data breaches. Get alerts if your personal information is at risk.

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Save a password once, and it’s instantly available on a single device type for Free. With Premium, LastPass goes everywhere you do, across all your devices.

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Choose a plan that works for you

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#1 Password Manager & Vault App with Single-Sign On & MFA Solutions | LastPass

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Go beyond saving passwords with the best password manager! Generate strong passwords and store them in a secure vault. Now with single-sign on (SSO) and adaptive MFA solutions that integrate with over 1,200 apps.

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"Get rid of password stress. Forever.

Let the NordPass password manager remember all your complex logins, autofill online forms, and generate strong passwords. Stress-free."

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Store everything that matters

Store and organize your logins, private notes, and credit cards in a secure password vault. Access it all with a single Master Password - whenever you need.

No more password sharing over email, messenger apps, or pieces of paper. Share passwords with the ones you trust safely and without hassle.

Rely on leading technology

NordPass uses many top-of-the-field encryption algorithms to protect your valuable information. They range from the golden cryptology standards to fresh algorithms poised to become the future of internet encryption.

Generate secure passwords

Whenever you need a new password, use our secure technology with built-in randomness to generate one. You can also adjust your new strong passwords to meet the requirements of different websites.

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NordPass password manager | Zero password stress. Forever.

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Store and organize your logins, private notes, and credit cards in a secure password vault. Access it all with a single Master Password - whenever you need. No more password sharing over email, messenger apps, or pieces of paper. Share passwords with the ones you trust safely and without hassle.

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If you still want to use your e.g. Dropbox, while enhancing your data security, take a look at NordLocker to en- and decrypt your files.

"Leading-edge encryption at your fingertips.

We use the most advanced ciphers and principles, featuring Argon2, AES256, ECC (with XChaCha20, EdDSA and Poly1305), and other creations of modern cryptography to guarantee ultimate security of your files."

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NordLocker file encryption: store and share data securely

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Keeping files in the cloud? Protect them with leading-edge encryption. NordLocker makes file security easy.

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„Simple and private file sharing - Firefox sends lets you share files with end to end encryption and a link that automatically expires. So you can keep what you share private and make sure your stuff doesn’t stay online forever.“

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Choose your language or locale to browse Mozilla.org

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Select your country or region to indicate your preferred language.

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Creative Learning Space - Learning Platform

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Creative Learning Space - Learning Platform

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A simple and beautiful learning platform with a focus on reflexion and social learning.

Made and hosted in Germany.

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Wir befähigen Menschen dazu,
als kreative Problemlöser
komplexe Aufgaben in
heterogenen Teams zu meistern.

Damit tragen wir zur
Innovationskraft in der Gesellschaft
bei und gestalten die Zukunft der
Arbeit aktiv mit.

Wir befähigen Menschen dazu,
als kreative Problemlöser
komplexe Aufgaben in
heterogenen Teams zu meistern.

Damit tragen wir zur
Innovationskraft in der
Gesellschaft bei und gestalten
die Zukunft der Arbeit aktiv mit.

Wir kombinieren digitales
und physisches Lernen.
Formate und Inhalte gestalten
wir so, dass Du Dein Ziel erreichst.

Bei unserem interaktiven,
erfahrungsorientierten und
nachhaltigen Lernansatz, stehst
Du im Mittelpunkt.

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Wir befähigen Menschen dazu, als kreative Problemlöser komplexe Aufgaben in heterogenen Teams zu meistern. Damit tragen wir zur Innovationskraft in der Gesellschaft bei und gestalten die Zukunft der Arbeit aktiv mit. Wir befähigen Menschen dazu, als kreative Problemlöser komplexe Aufgaben in heterogenen Teams zu meistern.

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Cliqz  - Secure Browser and Search Engine

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Cliqz  - Secure Browser and Search Engine

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„We equip Europe with key technologies such as browsers and an independent search engine.“

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Cliqz - Secure browser with built-in quick search

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Free download. Cliqz is the first browser with built-in quick search and integrated privacy protection: anti-tracking, anti-phishing and ad blocker.

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COVID-19 has forced companies the world over to enact - or create - remote working protocols. The likes of Box, Amazon, Airbnb, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have all told their employees some variation of "work from home".

But so too are more traditional organisations across fields such as real estate, accounting and local government.

Zoom team-selfies, like the one below, taken by giddy corporate executives who have been long-time remote working laggards, are polluting Twitter and LinkedIn feeds.

But like most things worth doing, there are different levels of proficiency and sophistication to scale.

Many newly-remote workers seem to conflate simply downloading Zoom, Slack, and having access to email with having this remote working thing sorted out.

But having a ball and a ring does not an NBA basketballer make.

Automattic

When it comes to swimming in the deep end of the remote working pool, few companies are doing it better than Automattic - the company behind Wordpress, which powers 35% of all websites on the internet.

Automattic - at the time of writing - has 1,170 employees scattered across more 75 countries, speaking 93 languages. It boasts a company valuation of US$3 billion, and has made several significant acquisitions such as that of WooCommerce and blogging platform, Tumblr.

The company does not have an office, with its employees collaborating almost exclusively online.

Matt Mullenweg

Automattic's founder, Matt Mullenweg (hence the double t in the company's name!) recently appeared on Sam Harris' popular Making Sense podcast (below) to talk what he calls the five levels of distributed teams (he prefers 'distributed' to 'remote' because the latter implies that there is still a central place of work).

Encouragingly (for me at least), Mullenweg's sentiments echo what I've been telling many of my clients and partners - tools are only as good as how you use them. In fact, abuse of tools can actually make us less productive - as seen here.

Following is my interpretation and paraphrasing of Mullenweg's sentiments on the five levels of remote work. Apologies to Matt if I have taken anything out of context!

Level 1: Non-Deliberate Action

Nothing deliberate has been done by the company to support remote work, but employees can still keep the ball rolling somewhat if they're at home for a day.

They have access to their smartphone, and email. Perhaps they dial in to a few meetings.

But they'll put off most things until they're back in the office, and will be a shadow of their office-bound selves.

Level 1 is where the overwhelming majority of organisations were prior to the COVID19 outbreak.

Level 2: Recreating the Office Online

This is where most organisations now reside - especially traditional ones.

It's where your employees have access to videoconferencing software (eg. Zoom), instant messaging software (eg. Slack) and email, but instead of redesigning work to take advantage of the new medium, teams ultimately end up recreating online, how they work in the office.

This extends to many of the bad habits that permeate the modern office and suppress the ability of knowledge workers to actually think - here's looking at you 10-person video-calls when two people would suffice, 60+ interruptions a day - now via Slack and phone calls, the sporadic checking of and responding to email more than 70 times a day throughout the day, or the hyper-responsiveness that is expected of all employees, leaving them wired to desktop dings like Pavlov's dog.

Mullenweg equates lack of redesigning work around the medium with the radio drama of the 1930s, which was essentially the acting out of plays over the airwaves. Adapting the content to the radio medium was not fully considered or appreciated at the time.

It's a little like many multi-million dollar digital transformation projects, whereby broken and redundant processes created in the 1980s are effectively digitised - but wait - they're still broken, and they're still redundant.

At Level 2, people are still expected to be online from 9 to 5, and in some cases to be subject to what essentially amounts to spyware, with employers installing screen-logging software on their employee machines so that they can play the role of Big Brother (see the Dictator's Guide below for more like this).

If you're at Level 2, you still have a long way to go.

Level 3: Adapting to the medium

At level 3, organisations start to adapt to and take advantage of the medium. Mullenweg points to shared documents (such as a Google Doc), that is visible to all and updated in real-time during a discussion, so that there is a shared understanding of what is discussed and decided, eliminating the risk of lost in translation errors and time wasted thereafter.

It's at this stage that companies start to invest in better equipment for their employees as well, such as lighting for video-calls and background noise-canceling microphones.

Effective written communication becomes critical the more companies embrace remote work. With an aversion to 'jumping on calls' at a whim, and a preference for asynchronous communication (more on that later), most of Automattic's communications is text-based, and so articulate and timely articulation becomes key.

In fact, Mullenweg says that most of the company's hiring is performed via text as opposed to candidate phone or vide calls.

When it comes to meetings:

Only hold a meeting if it is absolutely necessary and the same outcomes can't be reached via a quick ad-hoc conversation, phone call, email, text or instant message.

Set the meeting to 15 minutes by default, and only make it longer if absolutely necessary (the shorter the meeting, the more succinct you will have to be, and the less time there will be for pointless small talk and rambling).

Set a specific agenda and desired outcome going into the meeting.

Invite only 'must have' people (unless this is a big Type-1 decision, two people should usually do it with three on the rare occasion).

Agree on next steps, allocate responsible person(s) and set due dates (this is especially important to avoid boomerang meetings).

Never, ever, use a meeting simply to communicate information - that's what email or IM is for. Many are indeed learning that all those meetings could have in fact been emails.

* Free Download *
Download Chapter One of my forthcoming book on workplace productivity, Time Rich: Do Your Best Work, Live Your Best Life, below!

Level 4: Asynchronous Communication

'I'll get to it when it suits me.' This is the nature of asynchronous communication.

The reality is that most things don't require an immediate response. For most things, a one-way email or instant message should do the job, with the recipient responding when it suits them.

If something really is urgent, then the mode of communication should reflect that. Pick up the phone, or tap that person on the shoulder, but only if it is truly urgent.

Aside from the obvious and massive benefit of giving knowledge workers time to think, create and get into the flow state (a psychological state whereby we are up to five times more productive according to McKinsey), but asynchronous communication predisposes people to making better decisions.

As Robert Greene says, if you want to cut emotion out of the equation, increase your response time. Giving people time to think between question and response, rather than fall victim to blurting out the first thing that comes to mind in a meeting or when tapped on the shoulders, delivers a compound benefit to the organisation over time.

In order to avoid tennis games and duplication of effort, ensure that asynchronous messages:

provide sufficient background detail, where necessary provide clear action item(s) and outcome(s) required.

provide a due date

provide a path of recourse if the recipient is unable to meet your requirements.

For example:
Hey Shay

Attached is the incorporation document for our new spin-off company.

Please sign the document where requested and send it back to me by 4 pm this Friday.

If you have any concerns, give me a call on 555 1983.

Companies that truly practice asynchronous communication have stepped out of the industrial revolution, and no longer conflate presence with productivity, or hours with output, as one might on the factory floor.

Mullenweg points out that globally distributed teams, who work asynchronously, and master 'passing the baton', can get three times more done than a local team relying on everybody to be in an office between 9am and 5pm.

I'd argue that they could get an order of magnitude more done than a centralised company characterised by real-time and over-communication, as well as consensus-seeking meetings with everybody but the office dog present.

Awaken the Night Owls

A factor that went undiscussed in the conversation was that of chronotypes.

Science suggests that our preferred sleeping patterns - our chronotypes - are programmed at birth. People are either night owls or early birds.

Astrophysicist Sabrina Stierwalt wrote for Scientific American that:

our preferences for one or the other are encoded in genes called 'clock' or 'period' genes that regulate our circadian rhythms, and are linked to our blood pressure, metabolism, body temperature and hormone levels.

Several studies have found that about 30 to 40 per cent of the population are night owls, which means that the modern 9-to-5 workday is sabotaging the creative and intellectual efforts of almost half the workforce.

Stierwalt said that work days usually start between 7 and 9 am. However, night owls can experience 'social jetlag' if they wake up this early - that is, they can feel like they would if they had jetlag after an overnight flight. Early risers are less likely to experience social jetlag, giving them an advantage over night owls.

Studies show that while early risers are more alert in the morning, night owls show stronger focus and longer attention spans 10 hours after waking than their early-bird compatriots.

Asynchronous companies give night owls more flexibility to start their day later, so long as there is a workable overlap between them and their colleague's day.

Automattic is at Level 4, says Mullenweg.

Level 5: 'Nirvana'

This is where your distributed team works better than any in-person team ever could. Mullenweg equates this level with having more emphasis on 'environment design', insofar as the organisation's culture, and the physical environment people work in is concerned.

Of course, there are pros and cons with most decisions.

Three big cons or concerns that face newly remote teams, and how to counter them, can be found below:

Team bonding and building

Instead of telling their employees to be at the office 11 months a year, and have 4 weeks off, Automattic flips the script. Employees have 11 months of remote work a year, and have to make time to travel for up to 4 weeks a year for team bonding and building events.

They also make use of custom-built apps which keep track of who has met who, and then assign seats, say at a dinner party, so that people sit with people they've not yet met before.

Osmotic and office communication

With everybody working online, you miss out on watercooler conversations, overhearing other people say something that you can help with, or just having a general awareness of your team's activities by virtue of being within earshot of discussions.

To counter this, Automattic use a Wordpress plugin called P2, which acts as an internal blog, and a place where an incredible amount of conversation and activity is chronicled and captured.

Security

Mullenweg points to endpoint security -computer networks that are remotely bridged to client devices - and used for BYOD such as laptops and smartphones.

The alternative - being inside the office wall, as Mullenweg says -essentially becomes a single point of failure, and compromises depth in defence.

What we should be doing instead is rather than over-emphasising just access control, we need to be protecting against malicious behaviours. With over 70% of IT hacks using social engineering to get inside, he has a point.

Working from home is, for the moment, a privilege and not a right for many, so let's be more intentional about how we work, show that we can be more productive away from the office, and earn the right to work from wherever we please more often.

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The Five Levels of Remote Work - and why you're probably at Level 2

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COVID-19 has forced companies the world over to enact - or create - remote working protocols. The likes of Box, Amazon, Airbnb, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have all told their employees some variation of "work from home". But so too are more traditional organisations across fields such as real estate, accounting and local government.

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Tools for Remote Work by collaborationsuperpowers.com

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Tools for Remote Work by collaborationsuperpowers.com

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This list is just massive!!

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This list reflects tools being used by remote workers in the Collaboration Superpowers network-with favorites highlighted . If you decide to give one of these remote tools a try, tell 'em Collaboration Superpowers sent you! LAST UPDATED: 03 April 2020

For more tips for how to use these tools to create presence on your team, watch our free, on-demand webinar on how to work remotely... successfully =========>

But wait, there's more! Download your Remote Working Success Kit!

COLLABORATION

Brainstorming and Planning

Collaborative Touchscreens

Decision Making

Bizy. "Smart and easy group decison making." (https://www.bizy.com/)

Cloverpop for Slack. "The way to keep track of decisions in Slack, free! Decide faster with polls, announcements and approvals." (https://www.cloverpop.com/slack)

Conceptboard. "Visual online collaboration for creative and remote teams-getting projects from initial idea to final approval." (https://conceptboard.com)

The Decider. "Answer a few simple questions to explore better ways to make group decisions." (https://thedecider.app)

Ideaflip. "Ideaflip makes it easy for your team to quickly turn thoughts into ideas, then share and refine them.... It's a beautifully simple web app that's perfect for group brainstorms and individual ideas." (https://ideaflip.com)

Ideation360. "Collect ideas from anyone, at any time, anywhere." (https://ideation360.com)

Kialo. "Debate platform powered by reason." (https://www.kialo.com)

Loomio. "A safe place to have considered discussions and make decisions away from social media." (https://www.loomio.org)

Marylink. "The first solution to integrate a digital workplace, ideation software, and project management - fully extensible with app store. Powered by Open Source and Open innovation." (http://platform.marylink.eu)

Mindiply. "Quickly poll your teammates to make a transparent decision." (https://mindiply.com/products/decido/)

Picker Wheel. "a very handy online random decision tool that can spin the wheel and pick a choice from a bunch of inputs." (https://pickerwheel.com/)

Synthetron. "We help engage crowds to get answers to your important questions." (http://www.synthetron.com)

Yabbu. "Enables teams to make decisions, monitor progress, and discuss topics without having a face-to-face meeting." (https://www.yabbu.com)

Wheel Decide. "If you can't decide, all you need to do is touch the wheel, let go, and let the Wheel Decide." (https://wheeldecide.com/)

Document Editing and Wikis

Mind Mapping

COMMUNICATION

Group Chat

Telepresence

Video Conferencing

Airmeet. "Online events that encourage immersive interactions and networking among attendees." (https://www.airmeet.com/)

Amazon Chime. "Frustration-free online meetings with exceptional audio and video quality." (https://aws.amazon.com/chime)

Appear.in. An easy, instant way to have a shared-screen video call. Someone creates a link to a room and sends it to others. No registration needed. (https://appear.in)

BlueJeans. "Video, audio, and web conferencing that works with the collaboration tools you use every day."https://www.bluejeans.com)

Catch. Send quick video messages that expire after twenty-four hours. (https://betalist.com/startups/catch)

Collabify. Online meetings made easy. No registration. No log in. No worries. Just one click. (https://collabify.app)

Cyclops. One-click video conferencing with no download, no login, for up to eight people. (https://www.cyclops.io)

Daily.co. 1-click video calls, with more. (https://www.daily.co)

Discord. "All-in-one voice and text chat for gamers that's free, secure, and works on both your desktop and phone." (https://discordapp.com)

8×8. A unified communication system, VoIP and a wealth of resources for business, big and small, to learn more about the benefits of cloud communications and how these tools can help make remote work more effective. (https://www.8×8.com/)

Eyes on. "Eyeson offers you perfectly crisp video calls, even during large group calls and on your mobile." (https://www.eyeson.com/)

Freebird. "Quickly jump in and out of voice channels instead of scheduling calls. It's so fast you'll feel like you're working side by side." (https://heyfreebird.com/)

Gather. "A personalised web meeting platform shaped around your specific business needs." (https://www.timetogather.co.uk/)

GoToMeeting. "Online Meeting Software with HD Video Conferencing." (https://www.gotomeeting.com)

Hangouts Meet. Real-time meetings by Google. Using your browser, share your video, desktop, and presentations with teammates and customers. (https://meet.google.com)

Jitsi Meet. "No downloads required. Jitsi Meet works directly within your browser. Simply share your conference URL with others to get started." (https://meet.jit.si)

Join.me. Free screen sharing, online meetings, and web conferencing. (https://www.join.me)

Kandao. "Kandao 360° all-in-one conferencing camera gives you a true face-to-face meeting experience by delivering 1080P HD video with crystal clear audio." (https://www.kandaovr.com/kandao-meeting/)

Lifesize. "Video conferencing in stunning 4K. Meet, collaborate, connect and inspire." (https://www.lifesize.com/)

Loom. Google Chrome extension that allows you to record and share your screen and webcam. (https://www.useloom.com)

Mashme.io. "A cloud-based video collaboration platform." (https://www.mashme.io)

Meeting Owl. Intelligent 360-degree all-in-one video conferencing device. (https://www.owllabs.com/meeting-owl)

Neat. "Makes it simple to collaborate with your team - in or out of the office. Try a Neat Bar in your home office for the ultimate work from home experience." (https://neat.no/)

Odro. One-click online video meetings. (http://www.odro.co.uk)

Pepxip. "Empower your organization with face-to-face collaboration, no matter the location or technology." (https://www.pexip.com/)

Portal from Facebook. "Portal feels less like a video call and more like you're in the same room - even when you're miles apart." (https://portal.facebook.com)

Screencastify. "The #1 screen recorder for Chrome." (https://www.screencastify.com)

Shindig. Large-scale video chat events that allow you to present to an online audience of up to one thousand people. You can also take questions from the audience, provide audience with chat, and stream to YouTube or Facebook Live. (https://www.shindig.com)

StarLeaf. "StarLeaf keeps you connected and collaborating wherever you are so you can stay productive from the office, at home, or on the move." (https://www.starleaf.com/)

Swivel. "Audio chat for remote teams with office-like acoustic interactions." (https://swivel.is/)

VideoFacilitator. "high levels of participant mobility, as well as intuitive and nonintrusive facilitator controls."(https://www.videofacilitator.com/help/feature-overview)

YAC. Talk with your team, no meetings or scheduling needed. Listen on your own time & stay in sync. (https://www.yac.chat/)

Zoom . Enterprise video conferencing and web conferencing. (https://zoom.us)

Virtual Office

Working with colleagues in a virtual office can create a surprisingly strong sense of community and connection.

Bisner. "We empower coworking spaces around the globe to communicate and interact better with their community." (https://www.bisner.com)

Complice. "Find people to work with. If there's nobody else in a room, you can still go in it and invite your friends to join." (https://complice.co/rooms)

Hubs by Mozilla. Share a virtual room with friends. Watch videos, play with 3D objects, or just hang out. (https://hubs.mozilla.com/)

Myworkhive. "A social enterprise for parents, carers and anyone looking for a more flexible career that fits their life. (https://www.myworkhive.com/)

My Digital Office. "A complete online digital workplace, with desks, rooms, and even an office phone. You get all of the benefits of having a brick-and-mortar office, without needing one." (https://www.mydigitaloffice.io/)

Notion. "Write, plan, collaborate, and get organized. Notion is all you need - in one tool." (https://www.notion.so/)

Pragli. "View the conversations in your office. Feel connected with your teammates with live avatars, periodic photos, or both." (https://pragli.com/)

PukkaTeam. "Bring your remote team together, get real team presence with automated selfie photos, and see their status throughout the day." (https://pukkateam.com)

qube. "A virtual office that enables you to work remotely. See who's chatting with coworkers, out of the office, or stepped out for lunch." (https://seeq12.github.io/qube/)

Remo. "Online office space for remote teams." (https://remo.co/)

RemoteHQ. "Real-time collaboration for distributed teams" (https://www.producthunt.com/posts/remotehq)

Sococo . Sococo offers a virtual office with a customizable floor plan. All logged-in workers' avatars are visible, so everyone knows who is working. Includes options for group discussion rooms with video and screen sharing, a virtual water cooler chatting area, and a Do Not Disturb Room. (See my interview with some of the Sococo team at https://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/60-be-a-high-functioning-connected-team-in-a-sococo-virtual-office.) (https://www.sococo.com)

Tandem. Re-discover the flow of working together in‑person. See, talk to, and collaborate with your team in one click.
(https://tandem.chat/)

TeamSatus. "Empower you and your teammates to bring work and life into harmony-to be able to stay connected and collaborative no matter where in the world you're located." (https://teamstatus.net/#/)

VirBELA. "The Future of Work. One world, achieving together. VirBELA enables next-generation, remote collaboration." (https://www.virbela.com/)

Walkabout Workplace. "An award-winning online workplace connecting remote teams-seamlessly." (https://www.walkaboutco.com)

Wurkr. "A video platform that replicates your physical office - online! You can communicate and work with your distributed or remote colleagues visibly and in real-time wherever they may be.! (https://wurkr.io/)

Virtual Reality

3D Immersive Collaboration. "Your virtual place for real training, education, collaboration, and more." (https://www.3dicc.com)

MeetinVR. "MeetinVR enables your company to have powerful meetings in interactive VR spaces."(https://meetinvr.net/)

Qube. "An innovative virtual world from Pentacle The Virtual Business School." (http://qube.cc)

Second Life. "The pioneering virtual world that's been enjoyed by millions of people and seen billions of dollars transacted among users in its economy." (http://secondlife.com)

Spatial. "Collaborate from anywhere in AR and Vr." (https://spatial.io/)

Voice Conferencing

MEETINGS

Online Meeting Managers and Accessories

Circles. "The Circles System™ facilitates authentic, intentional dialogue across organizations, at scale."
(https://www.circl.es/platform)

Cogsworth. "Lets your customers book time with you when you are available." (https://get.cogsworth.com)

descript. "From meeting notes to multitrack editing, Descript is the powerful, flexible, and easy to use home for your audio and video." (https://www.descript.com/use-cases)

DroidCam. "DroidCam turns your Android device into a wireless webcam,
letting you chat on Skype, Google+, and other programs." (https://www.dev47apps.com/)

Hugo. "The meeting note platform that makes meeting insights actionable and keeps your whole team in the loop." (https://www.hugo.ai)

Inpirometer. "Bringing the business culture of meetings out of the dark ages..." (https://inspirometer.com/)

Kahoot! "Kahoot! makes it easy to create, share and play fun learning games or trivia quizzes in minutes." (https://kahoot.com/)

Kiryl's Facilitation Toolkit. "An extensive set of templates for different kinds of facilitated online sessions supported with guides and examples." (https://baranoshnik.com)

Klaxoon. "The meeting revolution". (https://klaxoon.com/)

Lean Coffee Table. "Lean Coffee Table helps distributed teams to run effective 'agenda-less' Lean Coffee meetings. Lean Coffee is a wonderfully simple idea developed by Jim Benson and Jeremy Lightsmith." (http://leancoffeetable.com)

MeetingSphere. "Virtual workspaces for dynamic collaboration." (https://www.meetingsphere.com/)

MeetingQuality. "Meetings with meaning." (https://www.meetingquality.com/)

Meeting Toolchest. "Resources to make your meetings more effective." (https://meeting.toolchest.org/)

Mentimeter. "Interactive presentations, workshops, and meetings." (https://www.mentimeter.com)

Meetingroom. "Connecting teams in a virtual reality meeting room from any device." (https://meetingroom.io/)

MultiTaction. "Where the ultimate touch technology meets the complete visualization and collaboration solution." (https://www.multitaction.com/)

Nureva. "Advanced audio conferencing systems and real-time visual collaboration tools bring your team together for better results." (https://www.nureva.com/)

Parabol. "Software-facilitated retrospectives and check-in meetings." (https://www.parabol.co)

room.sh. "Create a free online meeting room with powerful collaboration tools." (https://room.sh/)

Roti.express. "Get instant feedback from your meetings, workshops, and conferences." (https://roti.express)

Scriby. "A meeting notes platform that augments your calendar and makes your meetings *systematically* productive." (https://scriby.ai)

SoapBox. "SoapBox provides a single place for people managers and employees to collaborate." (https://soapboxhq.com/meeting-agenda-app)

TastyCupcakes. "Fuel for invention and learning." (https://tastycupcakes.org/)

Virtual card app. Cards for your phone to hold up when you're on a group video call by Stephen Walker via GitHub (Inspired by the Collaboration Supercards).

Vidrio. "Vidrio makes for effortlessly engaging screencasts." (https://vidr.io/)

Yack. "Combines automatically transcribed calls with instant messaging." (https://yack.net)

Standup Meetings/Status Updates

Geekbot. "Join thousands of teams that use Geekbot to automate standups, surveys, and daily reports." (https://geekbot.com/)

Jackfruit. "Always-on video rooms for your Slack channels." (https://jackfruit.live/)

Olaph. "A Slack bot that facilitates daily standups for your team inside of Slack." (https://olaph.io/)

Stand-Bot. "Run asynchronous stand-up meetings in Slack. Keep your team up to date." (https://softwaredevtools.com/stand-bot)

Standup Bot. "Standup Bot collects information from your team, organizes it, and posts it in one easy-to-find place. It keeps teams accountable, allows them to track goals, and removes roadblocks by getting your team back in sync." (https://standupbot.com)

Standuply. "Run asynchronous standup meetings via text and audio/video, and track team performance." (https://standuply.com)

Standups. "Supercharged video standups for teams." (https://standups.io/)

Weekdone. "Set structured goals to align activities throughout your organization. Track weekly progress, provide feedback, and move everyone in a unified direction." (https://weekdone.com)

WorkingOn. "Simple status reporting integrated into your workflow to improve team visibility." (https://www.workingon.co)

Video Broadcasting

Virtual Icebreakers

NITTY-GRITTY/LOGISTICS

Access

Horbito. "Enables you to work with your files online from anywhere and any computer without having to sync, download or install anything." (https://www.horbito.com)

Webjets. "The creative desktop for all things that matter." (http://webjets.io)

Password Management

Task and Project Management

Note: There are too many task and project management tools to list. Check out these comparisons of project management software on Wikipedia and Cloudwards.

Time Tracking

Time Zones

Virtual Assistants

Workflow and Process Automation

TEAM BUILDING

Appreciation

Blueboard. "Experiential employee rewards for the modern workplace." (https://www.blueboard.com)

Bonusly. "The easiest way to recognize and reward employees." (https://bonus.ly)

Cobudget. "Makes it easy for organizations and groups to allocate funds collaboratively and transparently." (https://cobudget.co)

Fond. "Field recotnition and rewards programs, gain access to the best corporate discounts and measure changes in engagement over time." (https://fond.co)

Gifted. "Automated gifting solution." (https://gifted.co/)

GroupGreeting. "Create group eCards in sixty seconds, add photos, and invite others to sign. Then watch as you make someone's day!" (http://www.groupgreeting.com)

HeyTaco! "HeyTaco! sparks conversations and builds stronger relationships with its fun and unique kindness currency ... tacos!" (https://www.heytaco.chat)

Kudos on LinkedIn. "LinkedIn members who are connected to each other can give kudos to each other." (https://www.linkedjetpack.com/linkedin-secrets/linkedin-kudos/)

Mo. "A fresh approach to employee recognition that improves employee engagement with a focus on social and peer-to-peer activity." (https://mo.work/)

Tinggly. "The world's best experiences in one gift box." (https://www.tinggly.com)

VidHug. "Our purpose is to help people connect in a meaningful way over long distances and that's why remote teams have gravitated towards us." (https://vidhug.com/)

Kazoo. "Real-time, meaningful recognition. Personalized, powerful rewards. Insights and analytics." (https://www.kazoohr.com/)

Feedback

Retrospectives

Retreats

Remote-how. "Introduces the digital nomad trend to corporate life by organizing the remote work programs for employees. Remote-how is a remote work & travel incentive program, to attract and retain your top talents." ( https://www.remote-how.com)

Surf Office. "Let Surf Office be your next offsite team building experience. Whether it's for the whole office, or simply a meetup with your remote team, our unique combination of work and play is sure to bring you and your employees closer together." (https://www.thesurfoffice.com/)

TAP International. "TAP is the premier professional development travel program, designed for rising talent. Experience the world, advance your career, learn from world leaders-all while getting your work done." (https://www.tapinternational.co)

MISCELLANEOUS HANDY GADGETS

For Further Reading/Listening/Consultation

Note: following the more general resources are those sorted by category, listed alphabetically.

In addition to their job listings and weekly "Fresh Jobs" newsletter, Remote.co offers a Remote Work Blog ( https://remote.co/remote-work-blog ) as well as extensive Q&As from both remote workers ( https://remote.co/remote-workers ) and remote-friendly companies ( https://remote.co/qa-leading-remote-companies ). https://remote.co

The Freelancers Union is afree-to-join group is "open to freelancers of all kinds, from graphic designers to contractors to entrepreneurs to moonlighters." Freelancers Union offers benefits such as health insurance, local freelance hubs in nearly twenty-five major cities, access to resources, and advocacy for policy change, such as the Freelance Isn't Free campaign to pass city laws mandating timely payment of freelancer invoices. ( https://www.freelancersunion.org )

FYI is a site that has scoured the Internet for every statistic about remote work you could ever need, and put it all in one place. ( https://usefyi.com/remote-work-statistics/)

BOOKS & GUIDES

For Individuals

For Teams & Managers

Distributed Development Comics by Zühlke Engineering. (link to PDF)

The Diversity Bonus: How Great Teams Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy by Scott E. Page. (https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/scottepage/; https://www.amazon.com/Diversity-Bonus-Knowledge-Compelling-Interests/dp/0691176884)

From Chaos to Successful Distributed Agile Teams: Leave the chaos of virtual teams behind. See how to help your distributed team succeed. (https://leanpub.com/geographicallydistributedagileteams)

How to Embrace Remote Work: Trello's "ultimate guide of tried-and-tested strategies, from the world's leading companies for remote work." Includes sections on Dispelling Myths & Providing Tips, Communication & Collaboration, Digital Tools, Company Culture, and Jobs & Hiring. (https://info.trello.com/hubfs/Trello-Embrace-Remote-Work-Ultimate-Guide.pdf)

Hubstaff Blog. (https://blog.hubstaff.com/remote-team-management/)

The Virtual Manager Collection by Harvard Business Review. "With the Virtual Manager Collection (3 books + Tools), you will be well equipped with the knowledge and tools to be more productive than ever in a virtual world. This set offers practical advice, sample language, and countless tips for the modern employee-whether you're managing a team, a project, or just your own work." (https://hbr.org/product/the-virtual-manager-collection-3-books-tools/10122E-KND-ENG)

Work Together Anywhere: A Handbook on Working Remotely - Successfully - for Individuals, Teams, and Managers by Lisette Sutherland. (https://www.collaborationsuperpowers.com/book)

On Working with Other Cultures

MyLifeElsewhere. "A collaborative site that allows you to compare and contrast the country you live in with other countries around the world, [offering] various statistics that differentiate your country from others, including cost of living, geographic size, and more. If you had been born in another country, what would your life have been like?" (http://www.mylifeelsewhere.com)

IfItWereMyHome.com. Similar to the above entry, this site notes it is a "gateway to understanding life outside your home," and offers statistical comparisons between your country and others. You can also use their visualization tool to help understand the impact of a disaster. Each week they feature a different country. (http://www.ifitweremyhome.com)

Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures by Brooks Peterson. (Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cultural-Intelligence-Working-People-Cultures/dp/1931930007)

Global Dexterity: How to Adapt Your Behavior Across Cultures without Losing Yourself in the Process by Andy Molinsky. The author's site offers a free eBook "Cheat Sheet to 10 Cultural Codes from Around the World," namely: Asia (China, India, Japan, Korea), Europe (France, Germany, Great Britain), and the Americas (Brazil, Mexico, USA). (www.andymolinsky.com)

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries by Terri Morrison and Wayne A. Conaway. (Simon & Schuster / http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Kiss-Bow-Or-Shake-Hands/Terri-Morrison/Kiss-Bow-or-Shake-Hands/9781593373689)

Working Across Cultures by John Hooker. (Stanford University Press/ https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=4505)

COMMUNITIES

CONSULTANTS

Academic Life Coaching

Agile Coaching

Fernando Garrido Vaz is a freelance product manager from Brazil with experience managing distributed teams with multiple nationalities and time zones. Fernando says: "It's interesting to have people with different backgrounds and slightly different views of things thinking about the same problems. You're likely going to get more innovative and creative suggestions than if your team was more homogeneous." (http://blog.garridovaz.com)

Mario Lucero is an Agile coach and experienced Scrum Master based in Santiago, Chile, with extensive experience with team leadership, continuous integration, architecture, and automation tools. He develops high-level solutions for companies in the technology, billing, and financial sectors. (https://cl.linkedin.com/in/luceromet)

Communication

Danielle Krage, the founder of The Remote Speaker Coach, will work with you breaking down your fears into manageable chunks of tips, rationale, techniques and practical advice that actually make you relish the opportunity to try them all out, rather than dreading your next public speaking slot. (https://remotespeakercoach.com/)

Judy Rees, a former journalist and media executive based in London, U.K., Judy is now known worldwide as a practical implementer of the inquiry methodology Clean Language. She is also the coauthor of the bestselling book on the topic, Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds. She works as an online facilitator, trainer, and coach and is an Agile enthusiast. (http://judyrees.co.uk)

Outsourcing

Podcasting

The Flexible Movement. Pauline Yau is on a journey to learn about flexible working in all its forms. From job shares to condensed hours to part-time, she wants to find out what's stopping most organizations from measuring people on their output instead of the amount of time they are in front of their laptop or in the office. (https://www.flexiblemovement.com/)

Personal Development/Reputation

Per Frykman is reputation advisor at Your Professional Reputation in Stockholm, Sweden. He helps people discover their potential so they can find jobs they love. (https://perfrykman.com)

Stephan Dohrn helps high-performing entrepreneurs unlock the full potential of remote work and lead a free and self-determined life. With his support, clients become emotionally fit, learn to organize their lives, and experience greater well-being-while keeping their professional edge. (www.sdohrn.com)

Taxes

Transitioning

Telecommuters Talk. "Boutique consulting firm on a mission to enable remote work and create inclusive workplaces for working parents and individuals with caring commitments." (https://telecommuterstalk.com/)

Work Well Wherever. "Work Well Wherever provides one-on-one coaching, training and customized tools to help you succeed while working remotely." (https://www.workwellwherever.com/)

COWORKING

HR Concerns

Freelancer Resources

FeeBee. "Helps business freelancers and consultants find out what their peers charged for similar projects, and guides companies on how to budget for projects in a specific skill area." (https://www.flexingit.com/feebee)

Payoneer. "Payoneer empowers you to scale your business globally and domestically with a payments and working capital platform designed for today's entrepreneur." (https://www.payoneer.com/)

Spectroomz. "Hire Exceptional Autistic Freelancers. Work with innovative, productive and reliable freelancers who master their trade, and help solve the autistic unemployment gap." (https://www.spectroomz.com/)

Payroll and Insurance (Health, Disability, Life, etc) for Remote Teams

Remote Working Policies

Online Work Sites

PODCASTS

21st Century Work life . "The world of work is changing. Our attitudes to work are changing. The 21st Century Work Life podcast with Pilar Orti looks at different ways of earning a living, of using technology at work, and of managing teams." (https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/podcasts)

Distributed.blog. "The cofounder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic embarks on a journey to understand the future of work. Having built his own 900-person company with no offices and employees scattered across 68 countries, Mullenweg examines the benefits and challenges of distributed work and recruiting talented people around the globe." (https://distributed.blog/podcast/)

The Future of Work Podcast. "A weekly show where Jacob [Morgan] has in-depth discussions with senior executives and business leaders around the world on the future of work." (https://thefutureorganization.com/future-work-podcast)

Nomad + Spice. "A podcast for location independent women. Long-term digital nomads Kit Whelan + Viv Egan cover everything from sexism, money, and privilege to hobbies, accessorizing, and pop culture." (https://www.nomadandspice.com/blog)

Podcast From a Distance. "...the unabridged and extended version of the book From A Distance." (https://valentinathoerner.com/podcast-from-a-distance/)

Rebel + Connect Radio. "Connecting you with the ideas, people, products, and services that you need to create a truly meaningful company culture on your remote team." (http://www.rebelandconnect.co/podcast-main)

RemoteOfficeFM. "The Show is about the Future. The Story Behind How Technology Could Shaping Our Lives Easier." (http://www.remoteoffice.fm)

The Remote Podcast. "For anyone looking to become a digital nomad and join the location independent movement. The podcast features in-depth and unfiltered one-on-one interviews with digital nomads. It gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what a location-independent lifestyle is really like." (http://theremotelifestyle.com/category/podcast)

The Remote Show. "The Remote Show is an interview style podcast devoted to all things remote work. We discuss tips, applications, tools, management concepts and much more in order to help today's remote worker be more productive and fulfilled in work and in life." (https://weworkremotely.com/the-remote-show-podcast)

Remote Work Podcast. "." (https://www.remoteworkpodcast.com)

Remote Works. "A bi-weekly podcast discussing the opportunity, culture, experience, and community surrounding remote work with featured discussions and interviews. Hosted by Jonathan Sharp." (https://remote.works)

Virtual Frontier. "A podcast about virtual teams created by a virtual team." (https://virtualfrontier.simplecast.fm)

Yonder. "Yonder advocates for remote work and we're building a movement to create more distributed companies and change the future of work." (https://www.yonder.io)

REMOTE WORK CONFERENCES

Remote Forever Summit. "World class experts in agile, leadership and remote work share their best strategies and techniques to help you sharpen your agile coaching skills, become a better leader and get equipped to improve your remote teams and distributed organizations." (https://remoteforeversummit.com)

Remote Future Summit. "The biggest online conference about remote work, where 50 top experts and influencers will share their best practices on how to effectively tackle the remote revolution." (https://remote-future.com)

Running Remote. "World's largest remote work event." (https://runningremote.com)

The Remote Work Summit. "World's largest remote work conference" (https://www.theremoteworksummit.com/)

If you have a remote tool that you think would make a good addition to the list, please let us know.

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Tools for remote teams - Collaboration Superpowers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This list reflects tools being used by remote workers in the Collaboration Superpowers network-with favorites highlighted . If you decide to give one of these remote tools a try, tell 'em Collaboration Superpowers sent you! LAST UPDATED: 03 April 2020 For more tips for how to use these tools to create presence on your team, watch our free, on-demand webinar on how to work remotely...

# data[].attributes.body
Become a remote work professional with this guide.

„Ein umfassender Leitfaden zum Aufbau erfolgreicher Remote-Teams"

The whole Remote Guide in German:
https://trello.com/remote-work-guide

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Try this: Walk into a room full of professionals and ask if anyone has ever telecommuted or has some kind of arrangement to work from home. With over 62% of employed Americans engaging in remote work in 2019, you'll probably get an earful.

As you'll hear from enthusiasts, remote work offers incredible opportunities for personal and professional growth. But being a team player and building a career outside of a traditional office setting also comes with a unique set of challenges. That's why we want to open the conversation about both the opportunities and hurdles of distributed work.

"Embracing remote" is a company value that means we witness, acknowledge, and support the range of experiences and emotions people might have when working remotely. Thanks to the honest group discussions of remote work at Trello, our team has developed some valuable insights about the ups and downs of making remote work, work.

From Social Butterfly To Social Butterflunk

At the outset, moving to a home office or working in a solo space can feel quiet-even lonely. If you're an extrovert by nature, talking out loud to your cat instead of an office mate can deliver less-than-satisfying results.

But ask yourself this: How much of your socialization at the office is merely chance encounters at the snack bar? When you're remote there's no physical communal snack spot, so you need to be more intentional about when, how, and why you're communicating with others. The thing is, being more mindful of your social interactions at work will deliver more satisfaction overall, remote or otherwise.

For example, set up threads in your chat tool to talk about hobbies, world events, travel, kids, cooking... you name it! Do not feel guilty for chatting about your favorite LaCroix flavor or best summer vacation memory on work time. A great way to get more comfortable with this is to poll your co-workers for recommendations on things you want to buy, places you want to visit, or what to eat for lunch. It's easy to get people talking about things they love!

___________________________________________________

We've wrapped up the tips from this article + tons more into a handy (free!) guide to all things remote work. Get it here:

___________________________________________________

Seeing as up to 10,000 non-verbal cues can be exchanged in one minute of face-to-face interaction, video meeting tools are essential for building relationships with others. You can set up team-building activities over video that play into the strengths of remote work, like sharing your office view or introducing your cat to your coworker's cat and watching the furry friendship unfold.

Video meetings don't need to be time-bound. Often enough, Trello team members will simply co-work over video on Friday afternoons, chatting (or not) when it feels right.

Outside of your immediate teams, the added time you'll have ditching the commute could be used for group fitness classes, local meetup groups with other professionals, or chill time with friends. Set up weekly recurring events, or simply make a personal rule to venture out with others a few times a week. Intentionally interacting with others means you can reap the rewards of choosing the best activities and conversations for your personality and social comfort level.

Dirty Dishes... Netflix... Squirrel

Working from home means you can throw in a load of laundry between meetings (yay!). It also means that you can throw in a load of laundry between meetings (er..nay). The advantages of multitasking work and home to-do's can also be pitfalls when you want to procrastinate writing a less-than-savory report for an impending deadline.

Just as with socializing, intention comes into play with setting boundaries between work and home. We strongly encourage people to set up their work station in a place where they can shut the door, put on some headphones, and have a dedicated space to concentrate.

Context switching is a pitfall for both co-located and remote employees. It can take up to 25 minutes to regain focus after a distraction, so use that as a check each time you feel yourself wanting to get up and check the mail: Can you afford this unplanned 25-minute break?

If you're just having a foggy brain day, try some focus exercises to get back on task. If you find yourself getting constantly interrupted by family or coworkers, set aside regular "maker time" and communicate that you don't want to be interrupted or attend meetings at that time.

Bringing Work To Bed

The flipside to being distracted by personal tasks while working remotely is neglecting to shut off work when it's time to be present with family and friends.

The biggest enabler of extended workdays is your smartphone. Especially if your team's workday is extended because you're all distributed across time zones, it's very tempting to check your chat app or collaboration tool first thing on waking up or right before bed, "just in case" someone needs something.

"I am a strong advocate of work-life "separation" as opposed to work-life "balance." The concept of work-life "balance" is a dangerous one because "balance" is often mistaken to mean blending, where work and personal tasks are alternated in the same environments, or where one activity is expected to provide both work and life."
-Tim Ferriss

One Trello team member sets workday boundaries by simulating a commute: At the beginning of the day, a quiet walk around the block sets the mood for focusing on work. At the end, the same walk in the opposite direction brings the routine full circle.

Use your shared calendar tool to communicate your "online" hours and try to stick to them. If you're all distributed across time zones, use a map or chart to list out who lives where and be mindful when choosing how to communicate with coworkers during their off hours. Just because you can be connected at all times doesn't mean you should.

Languishing In A Networking No Man's Land

Choosing to live outside your industry's physical hubs can provide a more affordable cost of living or the flexibility to be near family, but it can also be a nerve-wracking move when it comes to your career. After all, you can't attend all the same industry events or happy hours as your peers.

Remote work is shifting that compromise, as it allows you to make an ambitious career choice without sacrificing your location. Just as technology is enabling you to work remotely, it's also creating different, and equally valuable, networking opportunities. Virtual networking isn't complicated. In fact, it's a best practice to have an engaging online brand that people can discover regardless of where you live.

Interactive moments like Twitter chats or commenting on a connection's latest Medium article all tally up as networking efforts. Find online groups and communities where your peers are interacting, be authentic, and build meaningful value for people in your industry using channels like email or a video meeting.

Living On A Diet Of Cookies And The Couch

Eating well, sleeping enough, and exercising are all good habits regardless of where you work, and being remote means you have the opportunity to excel at your self care. It also means you can get lazy because you only have to walk from your bedroom to your home office and can put pizza delivery on speed dial without sharing a slice.

You are , and working remotely often means that the task of keeping a selection of enticing meals and drinks on hand falls to you instead of a super-organized workplace experience manager. It's infinitely harder to be valuable at your team's morning meeting when all your fridge contains is ketchup and as productive as what you eat nail polish.

While you will need to be more responsible about stocking your pantry, the reward is that you'll perform better at work while having the opportunity to use your full kitchen to create delicious snacks and meals whenever you want.

Set up a remote lunch club at work and challenge each other to try new ingredients. Batch cook and prepare lunches the night before just like you would if you were heading to an office. Or even take a proper lunch hour and go out to eat. Bottom line, respect your work and your ability to enjoy it by taking the time to feed yourself.

The same goes for exercise and motion. You might have to work a little harder at getting in your daily steps without the commute, but you'll have more time to stroll the block. Set intermittent reminders on your calendar or find a remote buddy to check in with about your fitness goals, and make it an excuse to take a break and get away from your screen.

Feeling Like A Lesser Contributor To The Company

This last remote work challenge can be the hardest one to overcome mentally. The FOMO (fear of missing out) that can come with remote work is an emotion that can set in deep and undercut every interaction with your team.

In particular, having team members split between remote locations and a central office requires extra attention to inclusionary best practices. Having a shared collaboration tool like Trello where you can update each other in real-time on tasks, ideas, meeting agendas, vacation calendars, questions, etc. is half the battle.

Leading a team to embrace remote also requires a company culture of keeping information and conversations open to everyone, documenting actions and plans so that they're available asynchronously for every team member. We have particular HQ-to-remote rules to live by that keep all Trello team members connected. The reason they work is because we have 100% buy-in on adhering to them.

On a personal level, it's important to focus on delivering results rather than time in your office chair. Aligning with your team on goals and objectives at the outset and then baking in video meeting time to collaborate and review progress together all contribute towards a more inclusive process of getting things done. Get in the habit of sharing everything, even works in progress, and you'll be surprised at how much more connected you'll feel to your team.

And if you just can't shake that FOMO feeling? Talk about it with your coworkers! Remote work is a practice that is continually evolving as new tech and even newer theories about how we work best come into play. Exploring the boundaries of distributed and asynchronous teamwork means that some processes will be a smashing success, and some will need to be thrown out and revised.

Make remote work a skill in itself to develop and perfect, and it will feed back into your satisfaction with it tenfold. Tweet this

Editor's Note: This post has been updated as of March 2020
Next: The Best Advice For Remote Work Success From 10 Global Teams [Free Guide]

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Tips For Tackling 6 Big Challenges Of Remote Work

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Try this: Walk into a room full of professionals and ask if anyone has ever telecommuted or has some kind of arrangement to work from home. With over 62% of employed Americans engaging in remote work in 2019, you'll probably get an earful.

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"It is very likely that most of us will have to work from home in the very near future due to the coronavirus outbreak. So here’s a list of products you can use to maintain collaboration and work remotely with your team. As a distributed team ourselves, we’ve used many of these over the past 5 years. Please contribute with any software solution you’ve heard of or used yourself that might benefit others.
Let’s do this together."

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Tech against Coronavirus - a list to work and learn remotely

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Simple list to help you work and learn #remotely. In the times of coronavirus outbreak lots of software companies are helping teams around the world keep a certain level of normality. Stay safe!

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Hanno's sister company for remote user testing. Effortlessly conduct moderated remote user interviews and user testing sessions.

Try PingPong

A great VPN to keep your team's connection secure and when they're working from public networks like coworking spaces or cafes.

placestowork.net

Find a coworking space or cafe nearby to work from based on your location.

Check it out

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Hanno's sister company for remote user testing. Effortlessly conduct moderated remote user interviews and user testing sessions. Try PingPong A great VPN to keep your team's connection secure and when they're working from public networks like coworking spaces or cafes. placestowork.net Find a coworking space or cafe nearby to work from based on your location.

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More interesting tools and articles around remote work

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Our curated list of remote work tools includes many leading tools that make remote working easier and more successful. We enrich this through additional info and exclusive reviews.

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Tool Overview from Tom Klose (in german)

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Tool Overview from Tom Klose (in german)

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Corona, nächste Stufe! 🚀 Heute kam die erste Ansage eines Kunden: " Unseren zweitägigen Workshop müssen wir #virtuell durchführen."

Bäääm! Ich bin zwar nicht ganz unvorbereitet und hab einige Ideen, wie ich das machen werde. Aber als Verfechter von realen Begegnungen und Events habe ich einen mehrtägigen Führungskräfte-Workshop, der insbesondere von der Präsenz der Menschen lebt, auch noch nicht #remote organisiert und moderiert.

Ich möchte hier Kluges und Cleveres zu dezentraler Arbeit - insbesondere virtuellen Workshops & Events - sammeln.

Überall verstreut lese ich jetzt viel Kluges zu dezentraler Arbeit. Deshalb will ich - auch inspiriert durch Annas & Valeries Post - hier sammeln, was mir insbesondere zum Thema Remote Workshops und Virtuelle Live Events einfällt oder was mir bei meiner Recherche begegnet.

👉🏻 Hier die Idee: Tools, Methoden, Tipps, Tweaks, Links - Alles, was ich weiß und finde, packe ich immer wieder in dieses lebende Dokument. Wenn ihr Erfahrungen mit remote Workshops oder virtuellen Seminaren habt und eine Idee ergänzen möchtet, schreibt sie in die Kommentare. Ich aktualisiere dann den Artikel. Und wenn ihr dran bleiben wollt, dann liked ihn einfach.

Los geht's! 👇🏻

🛠 Tools

🎥 Video Conferencing

Zoom (Test: Bietet auch in der kostenlosen Variante oder dem kleinsten Abo umfassende Möglichkeiten, Meetings und Workshops remote durchzuführen: Screensharing, kollaboratives Whiteboard, Breakout Räume, Videocalls bis zu 100 Teilnehmer. Aktuell hat Zoom die Beschränkung auf 40 Minuten im kostenlosen Tarif aufgehoben)

Whereby (Test: Für kurze und unkomplizierte Videocalls bis zu 12 Menschen ist Whereby super. Die technische Hürde ist extrem niedrig und man muss zudem keinerlei Software installieren - läuft im Browser)

Wire (Ende-zu-Ende verschlüsselt)

Webex

Lifesize

GoToMeeting

Google Hangout

Skype

Jitsi (selfhosted)

(siehe auch die Remote Starter Kits in den Links unten)

👥 Collaboration

Miro & Mural (Online Collaboration Whiteboards, Test: Miro und Mural sind sich sehr ähnlich in ihren Funktionen. Miro kommt mit einer gefühlt deutlich intuitiveren und einfacheren Oberfläche daher. Außerdem gibt es in Killerfeature: Sinneinheiten auf einem Board werden mit einem Frame zusammengefasst - und können dann als einzelne PDF Seiten exportiert werden. So ist das Fotoprotokoll praktisch schon fertig. Ein weiterer Unterschied: Miro legt mehr Fokus auf Methodik, hier gibt es viele Vorlagen zu Mindmapping, Brainwriting, etc. Mural hat hingegen ein großes Repertoir an Canvases hinterlegt, die man sich einfach auf das Board ziehen kann. Miro wartet außerdem mit einen Facilitator Account auf, um unterschiedliche Kunden voneinander trennen zu können. Achtung: Jeder Teilnehmer kostet über einen Tagespass extra. Dafür gibt es bei Mural keine Beschränkung der Mitbearbeiter an einem Dokument)

Conceptboard (Online Collaboration Whiteboard, Deutscher Anbieter!)

AWW - A Web Whiteboard (Online Collaboration Whiteboard)

Klaxoon (Meeting Collaboration, Leider bisher keinerlei Informationen zum Preis auffindbar)

Google Jamboard (Einfaches kollaboratives Whiteboard im Google Kosmos)

Lucidchart

Groupmap

TeamRetro (Virtuelle Retrospektiven)

FunRetro (Virtuelle Retrospektiven)

Slack

Google Docs

Google Drive

MS Teams

Nextcloud oder Synology DSM Productivity Suite (selfhosted)

Irooms Akademie (Plattform für virtuelle Meetups, Barcamps und Open Spaces)

(siehe auch die Remote Starter Kits in den Links unten)

✅ Feedback

👾 Weitere Tools

Sessionlab (Workshop Planung, Test: Mit Sessionlab kannst du den Ablauf eines Workshops oder Seminars - egal ob remote oder real - minutiös planen. Du kannst außerdem deinen Modulen Farben für Themengebiete zuordnen. Der Vorteil zu einer Planung z.B. in Excel: Änderst du zwischendrin Zeiten - gerne auch während des Workshops selbst, weil du ein Modul überziehst - dann passt sich der gesamte folgende Ablauf an und du hast immer im Blick, was das für deine Gesamtzeit bedeutet. Nicht so gut gefällt mir als Designer aktuell das User Interface. Die Schriften sind viel zu klein, unleserlich und lassen sich leider auch nicht anpassen. Dadurch wird es insbesondere in der Liveanwendung sehr unübersichtlich. Dennoch habe ich damit schon Seminare geplant und durchgeführt und es hat ganz gut funktioniert)

Loom (On Screen Teaching)

Kahoot (Group Learning Plattform, Online Games & Quizze)

Kialo (Plattform für die Strukturierung ausführlicher Debatten. Kialo-Edu frei für Lehrzwecke)

Meetyoo (Virtuelle Messen)

⚙️ Tipps, Tricks & Tweaks

Eine Netiquette für die Dauer des Events kommunizieren. Z.B. bevor man sich in Diskussionen unmuted und dazwischen ruft: "Ich möchte etwas sagen" = ✋🏻 Dann anhand der Reihenfolge der Handzeichen das Wort vergeben.

Stimmungsbilder und Meinungsabfragen über Emojis im Chat = 👍🏻 👎🏻

"Auf einer Skala von 1-10: Wie gut habt ihr das verstanden?"

Den Workshop aufteilen. CheckIn-Zeiten und Offline-"Stillarbeit"-Zeiten festlegen. So müssen die Teilnehmer*innen nicht die ganze Zeit online sein.

Die Technik vorher testen. Haben alle den gleichen Zugang? Wissen alle, wie's geht?

"Videokonferenzen sind gut, wenn der Ton gut ist."

Regel: "Eine*r remote, alle remote" = Sobald ein*e Teilnehmer*in remote teilnehmen muss, nehmen alle an ihrem eigenen Rechner remote teil.

Virturelles Graphic Recording nutzen

👫 Methoden, Templates & physische Tools

🔗 Links

💸 Special Corona Offers

🗺 Visuelles

Graphic Recording von Franziska Ruflair der Fokusgruppe "Digitale Tools" des Gutenberg Digital Hub, die sich am 24.03.20 remote getroffen hat:

#remote #remotework #followerpower #corona #pandemie #flattenthecurve #shutdown #homeoffice #digitalnomad #digitalenomaden #seminar #workshop

Published By

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Virtuell den Charakter von echten Begegnungen transportieren - geht das?

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Hinweis: Dieser Beitrag wird ständig aktualisiert und um neue Inhalte ergänzt. Letztes Update: 02.

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Das Gerüst für diesen Blogpost hatte ich zu Beginn der letzten Woche handschriftlich notiert. Da es aber so noisy war auf den sozialen Medien mit all den Tipps, hielt ich mich erst einmal zurück. Im Laufe der Woche kontaktierten uns dann einige klassische Bildungseinrichtungen mit ihren Fragen, wie man von jetzt auf gleich in den Online-Betrieb wechseln könne. Von daher scheint weiterhin Bedarf an Empfehlungen zu sein.

Hier also unsere kompakte Empfehlung nach 25 Jahren Erfahrung mit „E-Learning", „Online-Lehre/-Lernen", „Social Learning" und „Bildung 4.0" - zur groben Orientierung und als Leitplanke für die kommende Zeit.

Pragmatisch statt ideologisch!

Wie ich mir das Arbeits- und Bildungssystem der Zukunft wünsche, trägt meines Erachtens aktuell wenig zur Sache bei. Jetzt benötigen klassische Bildungseinrichtungen, deren Programme (bildungspolitisch erwünscht) auf einer massiven Präsenzkultur aufbauen, einen Handlungsrahmen, der ihnen akut hilft, ihre aktuellen Programme in die Online-Welt zu überführen. Dabei sind folgende Punkte wichtig zu realisieren:

Es geht nicht um Tools!

Es geht auch nicht primär um Methoden.

Es geht um Menschen und die sozialen Lernbeziehungen.

Nicht alles gleichzeitig angehen => Prozesse entzerren!

Weniger ist mehr!

Also, was braucht ihr als Bildungseinrichtung für den Switch?

Organisation der Lehre

1. Homebase zur Gestaltung des Lehrbetriebs

Zur Organisation des Lehrbetriebs braucht es eine zentrale Anlaufstelle, über die an die Lehrenden und Lernenden (kurz: L&L) kommuniziert wird, wie das jetzt laufen wird. Und was jede*r tun kann/soll/muss.

Also keine PR, keine Motivation, keine Füllwörter, kein Schnickschnack.

Aber im nächsten Schritt durchaus mit Mitgestaltungsrechten seitens interessierter L&L.

Denkt daran: Das wird ein Prozess, der sich agil verändern lassen muss, also ALWAYS BETA sein wird. Niemals fertig sein wird! Niemals!

Es gibt keinen neuen Standard. Wir verfallen jetzt alle in einen kontinuierlichen Experimentiermodus. Und das ist gut so.

To-Dos in Schritten

Überlegt euch eine Struktur bis hin zu den einzelnen Kursen und bildet diese auf eurer Homebase als hierarchisches Modell mit Links zu Folgeseiten ab.

Hier sollten alle mit möglichst wenigen Klicks zu den Inhalten gelangen, die sie benötigen, um überhaupt online arbeitsfähig zu werden.

Also bis hin zum Ablauf der Kurse, den groben Zeiten, den Inhalten, den Interaktionsmöglichkeiten. (Weiteres dazu folgt unten.)

Gebt 5 unterschiedlichen Personen eine zielgruppentypische Detailaufgabe, die sie über die Homebase lösen können müssten. Das ist euer Quick & Dirty-Usability-Test. 80% Fehler bei eurer Abbildung der zukünftigen Struktur lassen sich so finden und korrigieren.

Geht in den Regelbetrieb für mindestens 1, eher 2 Wochen.

Derweil überlegt parallel, ob es inhaltliche Synergien gibt zwischen den Kursen oder Klassen.

Arbeitet an einer verschlankten Organisationsstruktur, um personelle Ressourcen zusammenzulegen und stärker teambasiert zu arbeiten.

Bindet eure Lernenden mit ein. Je mehr mitdenken, desto besser wird meist das Ergebnis.

Bildet diese Struktur auf der Homebase ab.

Welche Technik?!

Nutzt das, was ihr bereits habt und was ihr selbst immer wieder verändern könnt. Und zwar möglichst easy. Im ersten Schritt geht es noch gar nicht um Lernmanagement-Systeme oder sonstige Online-Akademien.

Ihr habt eine Website? Nutzt diese zur Präsentation der Ergebnisse.

Nutzt ein Etherpad (z.B. ZUMpad) oder ein Google Doc zur gemeinsamen Bearbeitung, so daß ihr in Echtzeit sofort kollaborativ arbeiten könnt.

Ihr könnt auch Dropbox, Nextcloud etc. verwenden, wenn ihr damit Erfahrung habt.

Ansonsten sind die beiden Varianten oben gut gebrauchstauglich - auch ohne Vorerfahrungen.

Bitte keine Mails mit Datei-Anhängen („neu", „ultraneu", „meganeu" usw.) mehr versenden! Das Thema ist vorbei. Adios!

Später könnt ihr nach-und-nach umswitchen auf eine fundiertere Arbeitsumgebung mit WordPress/Nextcloud etc. oder MS Teams, Google for Education o.ä., je nachdem, was eure Datenschutz-Expert*innen dazu sagen - und offenbar öffnen sich jetzt plötzlich die Türen. Ihr habt bereits eine solche Umgebung im Regelbetrieb? Wunderbar. Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Berichtet bitte von euren Erfahrungen!

2. KOMMUNIKATIONSUMGEBUNG

Ganz wichtig für euren Lehrbetrieb der nächsten Wochen, Monate und vielleicht auch Jahre wird die regelmäßige Kommunikation sein. Dazu liesse sich jetzt weit ausholen, wie man online kommunizieren kann. Das tun wir an dieser Stelle nicht. Was ihr auf jeden Fall benötigt, ist jeweils eine Möglichkeit, asynchron und synchron zu kommunizieren.
Kleiner Exkurs zur asynchronen Kommunikation jetzt doch

Der große Vorteil des Online-Betriebs ist, dass jede*r dann kommunizieren kann, wann es ihm oder ihr zeitlich in den Kram passt. Gerade in diesen Zeiten wird es herausfordernd sein, alle zum selben Zeitpunkt in Ruhe synchron zu erwischen.

Ein weiterer Vorteil ist, dass man bei asynchroner Kommunikation auch einmal nachdenken kann bevor (!) man antwortet. Man kann die Frage durchdenken, die Antworten abwägen usw. Das ist auch eine Kunstfertigkeit, die alle einüben müssen, statt schnell mit einem lustigen Emoji oder Giphy zu antworten.

Bringt bitte Qualität in eure Kommunikation. Auch asynchron. Das drängt den Noise raus und bindet nicht unsere Zeit.

(Exkurs Ende)

Also, was braucht ihr unbedingt in aller Kürze:

Denkt Mobile first!

Orientiert euch zunächst an dem, was Eure Zielgruppen bereits nutzen oder schnell installieren können.

Also im ersten Schritt eine zentrale App aus der Messenger-Palette (WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Messenger, Discord, Wire etc.) für die asynchrone Kommunikation innerhalb der Kurse nutzen, sowohl im Gruppenchat als auch im 1:1-Coaching.

Ihr könnt das auch in eine Schul-App verlagern, vor allem bringt dies Vorteile in der Kommunikation mit den Eltern. Das würde ich aber im nächsten Schritt in Ruhe aufsetzen. Kein Aktionismus, bitte!

Für die organisationsweite interne Kommunikation solltet ihr die Kommunikationskanäle der Cloud-Lösungen andenken. Auch Slack, MS Teams oder WordPress mit dem P2Theme sind sinnvolle Alternativen, die sich schnell aufsetzen lassen. Möglichst nicht selbst anfangen, rumzufrickeln. Nutzt bitte Profi-Lösungen! Ihr erspart euch mittelfristig viel Ärger. Wie gesagt: Pragmatisch, nicht ideologisch.

Für den synchronen Austausch, der die Bindung zwischen den Menschen erhöht, eignen sich die Videokonferenzen. Ihr könnt im ersten Schritt Jitsi oder ZOOM nutzen - oder die internen Lösungen eurer jeweiligen Cloud-Lösung.
Wir haben in Refind zentrale Links zum Einstieg in die Online-Lehre gesammelt. Dort findet ihr auch alle aktuellen Videokonferenz-Lösungen, die in Betracht kommen könnten.

Kursintern hat sich herausgestellt, dass eine wöchentliche Zusammenkunft mit Bild eine bessere Qualität der asynchronen Kommunikation ermöglicht. Dann aber möglichst nicht die kostbare Zeit für „Vorlesungen" nutzen, sondern die Interaktion betonen. Also Diskussionen führen, Fragen beantworten, Expert*innen dazu laden, gemeinsam an etwas arbeiten im Whiteboard etc. => Wir stellen nächsten Freitag (20.03.2020) um 10 Uhr einige mögliche Videokonferenz-Formate bei der #DigiCLC20-Onlinekonferenz vor.

Wer Datenschutz-Bedenken hat wegen der Videobilder der L&L (und v.a. des Bild-Hintergrundes, da es sich hier ja um private Räumlichkeiten handelt), kann mit Audiokonferenzen arbeiten. Auch dies bringt die Leute zusammen und in den Austausch. (Dazu kann man einfach die Videokonferenz-Umgebungen nutzen ohne Bild.)

Videokonferenzen verbrauchen viel Bandbreite. Je nachdem, wie gut unsere Netze die nächste Zeit mitgehen, sollte man auf einen effizienten Einsatz dieser Variante achten. (Und eh nicht soviel Zeit synchron binden.)

Viele Server werden vermutlich durch den Dauer-Onlinebetrieb zusammen brechen. Ich vermute, da werden sich die etablierten Player von den schnell gestrickten Lösungen absetzen. Wir selbst setzen immer eher auf die soliden Lösungen, um möglichst wenig Technikfrust entstehen zu lassen und schnell zur inhaltlichen Arbeit zu gelangen.

Wenn ihr diese Grundausstattung im Regelbetrieb eingeführt habt und aktiv nutzt, könnt ihr nach-und-nach weitere, v.a. asynchrone Kommunikationswege hinzufügen.

Geht dabei vor allem auf die Kanäle, in denen eure Zielgruppen sich eh schon bewegen. Erzieht sie bitte nicht zu unsexy Alternativ-Medien, die keinen Spaß machen. Instagram-Stories, TikToks, YouTube-Channels, Podcasts usw. usf. sind super Möglichkeiten, um mit Schüler*innen, Studierenden, Eltern und Großeltern zu kommunizieren. Nicht belehrend, sondern qualitativ mit der nötigen Ernsthaftigkeit, aber auch mit Humor, wenn's geht. Keine Eigen-PR! Nur noch inhaltliche Qualität in die sozialen Netzwerke schütten, bittschön 🙂

Ob ihr ein Lernmanagement-System nutzen wollt für die Wissensvermittlung, könnt ihr später diskutieren. Das hat derzeit keine Priorität. Wenn ihr eh schon eines nutzt, okay. Kann man machen, muss man aber nicht. Nur für den Hinterkopf. Aber das diskutieren wir ein anderes Mal. Jetzt befinden wir uns im akuten Krisenmodus.

3. Regelbetrieb

Jetzt habt ihr eine halbwegs etablierte technische Umgebung zum Starten. Was tun mit euren Lernenden, sofern sie überhaupt über einen halbwegs soliden Internetzugang verfügen?!

Achtung: Das mobile Datenvolumen ist für die meisten Menschen begrenzt. WLAN nicht in jedem Haushalt verfügbar. Je nachdem muss man hier kreative Lösungen suchen je nach Zielgruppe.

Hier ein Gerüst, entlang dessen ich anfangen würde zu denken:

Morgenroutine etablieren => Ziel: Tagesstruktur geben

In einem bestimmten kurzen Zeitfenster kommen alle zusammen, um den sozialen Verbund zu stärken. Hier reicht vermutlich ein Messenger-Kanal, um Begrüssung, Status Quo, Tages- oder Wochenplanung, Stand der Arbeiten auszutauschen und gute Laune zu verbreiten.

Ich weiss, andere meinen, Echtzeit-Kommunikation wäre zuviel Stress für einige in der jetzigen Situation. Wir denken, es ergibt eine Struktur für den Tag, die viele jetzt in dieser Übergangszeit benötigen, bis sie selbstbestimmt und selbstorganisiert ihre Wochentage komplett alleine gestalten können.

Kollaborativ arbeitende Teams zusammenstellen

Hier geht es darum, dass sich Menschen in wechselnden Teams gemeinsam an Aufgaben setzen und diese im wechselseitigen Austausch bearbeiten.

Theoretisch könnte man jetzt darüber nachdenken, größere Aufgaben in verschiedene kleinere Teilaufgaben zu zerlegen und die Teams kooperativ daran arbeiten lassen. Dann liesse sich in der Morgenroutine jeweils kurz berichten, wie der Stand ist - und es könnten sich auch Einzelne vertreten lassen von ihren Team-Genoss*innen. Ich weiss, dies kollidiert etwas mit dem standardisierten Prüfungs- und Testdenken, aber da müssen wir ja eh baldmöglichst ran 😉

Nachmittagsroutine

Nach dem Mittagessen könnten nochmals alle irgendwie zusammen kommen und von ihren Herausforderungen, Problemen, Ergebnissen, Lessons Learned etc. berichten.

Da jetzt zwar Einige wenig persönliche Zeit haben (s.o.), andere dafür umso mehr, sollten wir die Gunst der Stunde nutzen und hier die Vorteile asynchronen Arbeitens und Lernens nutzen (s.o.). Das bedeutet, dass manche Personen viel Zeit haben, bestimmte Inhalte in welcher Form auch immer zu suchen, zu sammeln, zusammenzufassen, aufzubereiten für unterschiedliche Zielgruppen usw. usf. Dazu könnte man sich austauschen und Aufgaben verteilen. Das ist die Zeit, in der vernetztes Lernen zum Tragen kommen kann. Alle gemeinsam und jede*r in der eigenen Geschwindigkeit. Natürlich nicht mehr mit Blick auf standardisierte Prüfungen, aber das deutete ich oben bereits an.

Austausch der „Lehrenden"

Es ist offensichtlich, dass jetzt alle, wirklich alle in den Lernmodus verfallen müssen. Das funktioniert am besten, in dem auch die Lehrenden einer Bildungseinrichtung sich regelmäßig austauschen und ihre Lessons Learned in einer Routine (wie auch immer) besprechen. Es muss nicht Jede*r dieselben Fehler machen.

Sammelt eure Lernergebnisse, tauscht sie aus, lasst euch wechselseitig helfen, auch von den Schüler*innen oder Studierenden, wenn sie etwas besser können. Ja, auch diese können nicht alles bzw. leben sie in anderen digitalen Sphären als die Boomers. Aber ganz ehrlich: Ob man in diesem Zeitalter noch eine Maus bedienen oder eine E-Mail-Adresse einrichten können muss, kommt immer auf die Perspektive an.

Wir werden mit einer ersten Schule jetzt bald den ursprünglich in Präsenz geplanten pädagogischen Tag zerlegen in eine Online-Fortbildung. Schauen wir mal, was in diesen Zeiten sich bewegen und anstossen lässt.

Und ansonsten tauscht gerne eure Projektideen und -realisierungen bei Teachoz.io aus. Wenn ihr einen Code zur Anmeldung benötigt, meldet euch bei mir.

Zwischenfazit

Wir müssen jetzt alle von allen lernen. Und Kompromisse eingehen. Auf allen Seiten. Es ist eine transformative Zeit. Ich hätte nie gedacht, dass solch ein Virus letztlich der Auslöser sein wird, der die (notwendige) Transformation disruptiv voran bringt.

Zum Glück haben wir dieses weltweite digitale Netz. Lasst es uns konstruktiv nutzen! Und wie gesagt: Pragmatisch, nicht ideologisch! In diesem Sinne: Bleibt gesund! Und achtet aufeinander!

Was jetzt?

Habt ihr konkrete Wünsche, worauf wir noch eingehen sollen? Ab damit in die Kommentare oder direkt an uns senden. Wie auch immer.
Und tragt euch den Termin in den Kalender ein: Nächsten Sonntag (22.03.2020) widmet sich das Jugend-Online-Event der kollaborativen Kompetenz. Schon seit Monaten in Planung. Es hätte zeitlich nicht besser fallen können. Vielleicht sehen wir uns da. Ich halte die Keynote ...

Lernen zu lernen & lehren ab 2020 mit @frolleinflow. Wie klassische Bildungseinrichtungen vorgehen können. #bildung40
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Work in progress. Folgt zu gegebener Zeit ... Dieser Artikel wird immer wieder aktualisiert ...
Organisation der Arbeit

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Wie geht Online-Lehre quick & dirty?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Das Gerüst für diesen Blogpost hatte ich zu Beginn der letzten Woche handschriftlich notiert. Da es aber so noisy war auf den sozialen Medien mit all den Tipps, hielt ich mich erst einmal zurück. Im Laufe der Woche kontaktierten uns dann einige klassische Bildungseinrichtungen mit ihren Fragen, wie man von jetzt auf gleich in den...

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The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning

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The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning

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Well-planned online learning experiences are meaningfully different from courses offered online in response to a crisis or disaster. Colleges and universities working to maintain instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic should understand those differences when evaluating this emergency remote teaching.

Credit: frankie's / Shutterstock.com © 2020

Due to the threat of COVID-19, colleges and universities are facing decisions about how to continue teaching and learning while keeping their faculty, staff, and students safe from a public health emergency that is moving fast and not well understood. Many institutions have opted to cancel all face-to-face classes, including labs and other learning experiences, and have mandated that faculty move their courses online to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. The list of institutions of higher education making this decision has been growing each day. Institutions of all sizes and types-state colleges and universities, Ivy League institutions, community colleges, and others-are moving their classes online. Bryan Alexander has curated the status of hundreds of institutions.

Moving instruction online can enable the flexibility of teaching and learning anywhere, anytime, but the speed with which this move to online instruction is expected to happen is unprecedented and staggering. Although campus support personnel and teams are usually available to help faculty members learn about and implement online learning, these teams typically support a small pool of faculty interested in teaching online. In the present situation, these individuals and teams will not be able to offer the same level of support to all faculty in such a narrow preparation window. Faculty might feel like instructional MacGyvers, having to improvise quick solutions in less-than-ideal circumstances. No matter how clever a solution might be-and some very clever solutions are emerging-many instructors will understandably find this process stressful.

The temptation to compare online learning to face-to-face instruction in these circumstances will be great. In fact, an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education has already called for a "grand experiment" doing exactly that. This is a highly problematic suggestion, however. First and foremost, the politics of any such debate must be acknowledged. "Online learning" will become a politicized term that can take on any number of meanings depending on the argument someone wants to advance. In talking about lessons learned when institutions moved classes online during a shutdown in South Africa, Laura Czerniewicz starts with this very lesson and what happened around the construct of "blended learning" at the time. The idea of blended learning was drawn into political agendas without paying sufficient attention to the fact that institutions would make different decisions and invest differently, resulting in widely varying solutions and results from one institution to another. With some of that hindsight as wisdom, we seek to advance some careful distinctions that we hope can inform the evaluations and reflections that will surely result from this mass move by colleges and universities.

Online learning carries a stigma of being lower quality than face-to-face learning, despite research showing otherwise. These hurried moves online by so many institutions at once could seal the perception of online learning as a weak option, when in truth nobody making the transition to online teaching under these circumstances will truly be designing to take full advantage of the affordances and possibilities of the online format.

Researchers in educational technology, specifically in the subdiscipline of online and distance learning, have carefully defined terms over the years to distinguish between the highly variable design solutions that have been developed and implemented: distance learning, distributed learning, blended learning, online learning, mobile learning, and others. Yet an understanding of the important differences has mostly not diffused beyond the insular world of educational technology and instructional design researchers and professionals. Here, we want to offer an important discussion around the terminology and formally propose a specific term for the type of instruction being delivered in these pressing circumstances: emergency remote teaching.

Many active members of the academic community, including some of us, have been hotly debating the terminology in social media, and "emergency remote teaching" has emerged as a common alternative term used by online education researchers and professional practitioners to draw a clear contrast with what many of us know as high-quality online education. Some readers may take issue with the use of the term "teaching" over choices such as "learning" or "instruction." Rather than debating all of the details of those concepts, we selected "teaching" because of its simple definitions-"the act, practice, or profession of a teacher" and "the concerted sharing of knowledge and experience,"-along with the fact that the first tasks undertaken during emergency changes in delivery mode are those of a teacher/instructor/professor.

Effective Online Education

Online education, including online teaching and learning, has been studied for decades. Numerous research studies, theories, models, standards, and evaluation criteria focus on quality online learning, online teaching, and online course design. What we know from research is that effective online learning results from careful instructional design and planning, using a systematic model for design and development. The design process and the careful consideration of different design decisions have an impact on the quality of the instruction. And it is this careful design process that will be absent in most cases in these emergency shifts.

One of the most comprehensive summaries of research on online learning comes from the book Learning Online: What Research Tells Us about Whether, When and How. The authors identify nine dimensions, each of which has numerous options, highlighting the complexity of the design and decision-making process. The nine dimensions are modality, pacing, student-instructor ratio, pedagogy, instructor role online, student role online, online communication synchrony, role of online assessments, and source of feedback (see "Online learning design options").

Online learning design options (moderating variables)

Within each of these dimensions, there are options. Complicating matters, not all of the options are equally effective. For example, decisions around class size will greatly constrain what strategies you can use. Practice and feedback, for example, are well established in the literature, but it's harder to implement this as class size grows, eventually reaching a point where it's just not possible for an instructor to provide quality feedback. In the case of synchrony, what you choose will really depend on your learners' characteristics and what best meets their needs (adult learners require more flexibility, so asynchronous is usually best, perhaps with optional synchronous sessions, whereas younger learners benefit from the structure of required synchronous sessions).

Research on types of interaction-which includes student-content, student-student, and student-instructor-is one of the more robust bodies of research in online learning. In short, it shows that the presence of each of these types of interaction, when meaningfully integrated, increases the learning outcomes. Thus, careful planning for online learning includes not just identifying the content to cover but also carefully tending to how you're going to support different types of interactions that are important to the learning process. This approach recognizes learning as both a social and a cognitive process, not merely a matter of information transmission.

Those who have built online programs over the years will attest that effective online learning aims to be a learning community and supports learners not just instructionally but with co-curricular engagement and other social supports. Consider how much infrastructure exists around face-to-face education that supports student success: library resources, housing, career services, health services, and so on. Face-to-face education isn't successful because lecturing is good. Lectures are one instructional aspect of an overall ecosystem specifically designed to support learners with formal, informal, and social resources. Ultimately, effective online education requires an investment in an ecosystem of learner supports, which take time to identify and build. Relative to other options, simple online content delivery can be quick and inexpensive, but confusing that with robust online education is akin to confusing lectures with the totality of residential education.

Typical planning, preparation, and development time for a fully online university course is six to nine months before the course is delivered. Faculty are usually more comfortable teaching online by the second or third iteration of their online courses. It will be impossible for every faculty member to suddenly become an expert in online teaching and learning in this current situation, in which lead times range from a single day to a few weeks. While there are resources to which faculty can turn for assistance, the scale of change currently being required on many campuses will stress the systems that provide those resources and most likely will surpass their capacities. Let's face it: many of the online learning experiences that instructors will be able to offer their students will not be fully featured or necessarily well planned, and there's a high probability for suboptimal implementation. We need to recognize that everyone will be doing the best they can, trying to take just the essentials with them as they make a mad dash during the emergency. Thus, the distinction is important between the normal, everyday type of effective online instruction and that which we are doing in a hurry with bare minimum resources and scant time: emergency remote teaching.

Emergency Remote Teaching

In contrast to experiences that are planned from the beginning and designed to be online, emergency remote teaching (ERT) is a temporary shift of instructional delivery to an alternate delivery mode due to crisis circumstances. It involves the use of fully remote teaching solutions for instruction or education that would otherwise be delivered face-to-face or as blended or hybrid courses and that will return to that format once the crisis or emergency has abated. The primary objective in these circumstances is not to re-create a robust educational ecosystem but rather to provide temporary access to instruction and instructional supports in a manner that is quick to set up and is reliably available during an emergency or crisis. When we understand ERT in this manner, we can start to divorce it from "online learning." There are many examples of other countries responding to school and university closures in a time of crisis by implementing models such as mobile learning, radio, blended learning, or other solutions that are contextually more feasible. For example, in a study on education's role in fragility and emergency situations, the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies examined four case studies. One of those cases was Afghanistan, where education was disrupted by conflict and violence and schools themselves were targets, sometimes because girls were trying to access education. In order to take children off the streets and keep them safe, radio education and DVDs were used to maintain and expand educational access and also were aimed at promoting education for girls.

What becomes apparent as we examine examples of educational planning in crises is that these situations require creative problem solving. We have to be able to think outside standard boxes to generate various possible solutions that help meet the new needs for our learners and communities. In some cases, it might even help us generate some new solutions to intractable problems, such as the dangers girls faced trying to access education in Afghanistan. Thus, it may be tempting to think about ERT as a bare-bones approach to standard instruction. In reality, it is a way of thinking about delivery modes, methods, and media, specifically as they map to rapidly changing needs and limitations in resources, such as faculty support and training.

In the present situation, the campus support teams that are usually available to help faculty members learn about and implement online learning will not be able to offer the same level of support to all faculty who need it. Faculty support teams play a critical role in the learning experiences of students by helping faculty members develop face-to-face or online learning experiences. Current support models might include full-course design support, professional development opportunities, content development, learning management system training and support, and multimedia creation in partnership with faculty experts. Faculty who seek support typically have varying levels of digital fluency and are often accustomed to one-on-one support when experimenting with online tools. The shift to ERT requires that faculty take more control of the course design, development, and implementation process. With the expectation of rapid development of online teaching and learning events and the large number of faculty in need of support, faculty development and support teams must find ways to meet the institutional need to provide instructional continuity while helping faculty develop skills to work and teach in an online environment. As such, institutions must rethink the way instructional support units do their work, at least during a crisis.

The rapid approach necessary for ERT may diminish the quality of the courses delivered. A full-course development project can take months when done properly. The need to "just get it online" is in direct contradiction to the time and effort normally dedicated to developing a quality course. Online courses created in this way should not be mistaken for long-term solutions but accepted as a temporary solution to an immediate problem. Especially concerning is the degree to which the accessibility of learning materials might not be addressed during ERT. This is but one reason that universal design for learning (UDL) should be part of all discussions around teaching and learning. UDL principles focus on the design of learning environments that are flexible, inclusive, and student-centered to ensure that all students can access and learn from the course materials, activities, and assignments.

Evaluating Emergency Remote Teaching

Institutions will certainly want to conduct evaluations of their ERT efforts, but what should they evaluate? First, let's consider what not to evaluate. A common misconception is that comparing a face-to-face course with an online version of the course constitutes a useful evaluation. This type of assessment, known as a media comparison study, provides no real value, for at least three reasons:

First, any medium is simply a way to deliver information, and one medium is not inherently better or worse than any other medium. Second, we need to better understand different media and the way people learn with different media to design effective studies. And, third, there are too many confounding variables in even the best media comparison study for the results to be valid and meaningful.

Researchers who conduct media comparison studies are looking at "the whole unique medium and [giving] little thought to each one's attributes and characteristics, to learner needs, or to psychological learning theories."

Other approaches to evaluation can be useful in this move to ERT. The success of distance and online learning experiences can be measured in a variety of ways, depending on how "success" is defined from a given stakeholder's perspective. From the faculty point of view, student learning outcomes would be of primary interest. Did learners achieve the intended knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes that were the focus of the instructional experience? Attitudinal outcomes are also possibly of interest, for students and for faculty. For students, issues such as interest, motivation, and engagement are directly connected to learner success and so would be possible evaluation foci. For faculty, attitudes toward online instruction and all that it entails can affect the perception of success.

Programmatic outcomes such as course and program completion rates, market reach, faculty time investments, impacts on promotion and tenure processes-all of these are relevant issues related to the offering of distance courses and programs. Finally, implementation resources and strategies are possible areas of evaluation inquiry, such as the reliability of selected technological delivery systems, the provision of and access to learner support systems, support for faculty professional development for online teaching pedagogies and tools, policy and governance issues related to distance program development, and quality assurance. All of these factors can influence the effectiveness of distance and online learning experiences and can serve to inform learning experience design and program development and implementation. These recommended areas of evaluation are for well-planned distance or online learning efforts and may not be appropriate in the case of ERT. Evaluating ERT will require broader questions, especially during initial implementations.

Next, let us recommend where you should focus your evaluation related to ERT efforts. The language of the CIPP model will be used for structure. CIPP is an acronym representing context, inputs, process, and products (see table 1).

Table 1. CIPP evaluation terms

"Assess needs, problems, assets, and opportunities, as well as relevant contextual conditions and dynamics"

"Assess a program's strategy, action plan, staffing arrangements, and budget for feasibility and potential cost-effectiveness to meet targeted needs and achieve goals."

"Monitor, document, assess, and report on the implementation of plans."

"Identify and assess costs and outcomes-intended and unintended, short term and long term."

In the case of ERT, institutions might want to consider evaluation questions such as the following:

Given the need to shift to remote instruction, what internal and external resources were necessary in supporting this transition? What aspects of the context (institutional, social, governmental) affected the feasibility and effectiveness of the transition? (context)

How did the university interactions with students, families, personnel, and local and government stakeholders impact perceived responsiveness to the shift to ERT? (context)

Was the technology infrastructure sufficient to handle the needs of ERT? (input)

Did the campus support staff have sufficient capacity to handle the needs of ERT? (input)

Was our ongoing faculty professional development sufficient to enable ERT? How can we enhance opportunities for immediate and flexible learning demands related to alternative approaches to instruction and learning? (input)

Where did faculty, students, support personnel, and administrators struggle the most with ERT? How can we adapt our processes to respond to such operational challenges in the future? (process)

What were the programmatic outcomes of the ERT initiative (i.e., course completion rates, aggregated grade analyses, etc.)? How can challenges related to these outcomes be addressed in support of the students and faculty impacted by these issues? (product)

How can feedback from learners, faculty, and campus support teams inform ERT needs in the future? (product)

Evaluation of ERT should be more focused on the context, input, and process elements than product (learning). Note that we are not advocating for no evaluation of whether or not learning occurred, or to what extent it occurred, but simply stressing that the urgency of ERT and all that will take to make it happen in a short time frame will be the most critical elements to evaluate during this crisis. This is being recognized by some as a few institutions are beginning to announce changing to pass/fail options rather letter grades during ERT.

Also, given the continued evidence of problems surrounding student evaluations of instruction under typical higher education experiences, we recommend that the standard, end-of-semester teaching evaluations definitely not be counted against faculty members engaged in ERT. If an institution's policy mandates that those evaluations be administered, consider amending the policy, or make sure that the results are clearly qualified with the circumstances of the term or semester.

Final Thoughts

Everyone involved in this abrupt migration to online learning must realize that these crises and disasters also create disruptions to student, staff, and faculty lives, outside their association with the university. So all of this work must be done with the understanding that the move to ERT will likely not be the priority of all those involved. Instructors and administrators are urged to consider that students might not be able to attend to courses immediately. As a result, asynchronous activities might be more reasonable than synchronous ones. Flexibility with deadlines for assignments within courses, course policies, and institutional policies should be considered. For a high-level example, the US Department of Education has relaxed some requirements and policies in the face of COVID-19.

Hopefully the COVID-19 threat will soon be a memory. When it is, we should not simply return to our teaching and learning practices prior to the virus, forgetting about ERT. There likely will be future public health and safety concerns, and in recent years, campuses have been closed due to natural disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes, and the polar vortex. Thus, the possible need for ERT must become part of a faculty member's skill set, as well as professional development programming for any personnel involved in the instructional mission of colleges and universities.

The threat of COVID-19 has presented some unique challenges for institutions of higher education. All parties involved-students, faculty, and staff-are being asked to do extraordinary things regarding course delivery and learning that have not been seen on this scale in the lifetimes of anyone currently involved. Although this situation is stressful, when it is over, institutions will emerge with an opportunity to evaluate how well they were able to implement ERT to maintain continuity of instruction. It is important to avoid the temptation to equate ERT with online learning during those evaluations. With careful planning, officials at every campus can evaluate their efforts, allowing those involved to highlight strengths and identify weaknesses to be better prepared for future needs to implement ERT.

Notes

See, for example: "Information for Ohio State University Students, Faculty and Staff," The Ohio State University, Wexner Medical Center; "President Eisgruber Updates University on Next Steps Regarding COVID-19 to Ensure Health and Well-Being of the Entire Community," Princeton University; and Everett Community College. ↩

"Coronavirus and Higher Education Resources," Bryan Alexander blog, March 17, 2020. ↩

Laura Czerniewicz, "What We Learnt from 'Going Online' during University Shutdowns in South Africa," PhilOnEdTech, March 15, 2020. ↩

"Teaching," Merriam-Webster. ↩

Robert M. Branch and Tonia A. Dousay, "Survey of Instructional Design Models," Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), 2015. ↩

Robert M. Bernard, Philip C. Abrami, Eugene Borokhovski, C. Anne Wade, Rana M. Tamim, Michael A. Surkes, and Edward Clement Bethel, "A Meta-Analysis of Three Types of Interaction Treatments in Distance Education," Review of Educational Research 79, no. 3 (2009): 1,243-89. ↩

Lynn Davies and Denise Bentrovato, International Institute for Educational Planning (2011). "Understanding Education's Role in Fragility; Synthesis of Four Situational Analyses of Education and Fragility: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Liberia,"↩

See "UDL On Campus," ↩

"Guidance for Interruptions of Study Related to Coronavirus (COVID-19)," Federal Student Aid, Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP), March 20, 2020. ↩

Elin Johnson, "As Fires Rage, More Campuses Close," InsideHigherEd, October 29, 2019; Jenni Fink, "Florida Universities Cancelling Classes, Closing Campus Ahead of Potential Category 4 Hurricane Dorian," Newsweek, August 29, 2019; and Perry Samson, "The Coronavirus and Class Broadcasts," EDUCAUSE Review, March 3, 2020. ↩

Charles B. Hodges is a Professor of Instructional Technology at Georgia Southern University.

Stephanie Moore is an Assistant Professor of Instructional Design and Technology in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia.

Barbara B. Lockee is a Professor of Instructional Design and Technology, and Provost Faculty Fellow, at Virginia Tech.

Torrey Trust is an Associate Professor of Learning Technology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

M. Aaron Bond is Senior Director, Professional Development Network and Faculty Digital Fluency at Virginia Tech.

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In the 13 years and 62 days that we've been building Todoist, we've never considered selling out or becoming acquired.

Our team is committed to staying independent and earning your trust for as long as you need our apps.
Learn about our long-term mission

Join millions of people who organize work and life with Todoist.

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Todoist: The to do list to organize work & life

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Regain clarity and calmness by getting all those tasks out of your head and onto your to-do list (no matter where you are or what device you use). Todoist has helpedmillions of people complete over 1.5 billion tasksin 150+ million projects.

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A really nice alternative to Trello hosted in Europe.

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Looking For a Tailored Enterprise Solution?

MeisterTask Business offers large teams a simple, intuitive task management solution that can be customized to suit your business's specific needs. With features distinctly designed for enterprise use, such as: user roles, project access rights, time tracking, automations and more. Find out how exactly MeisterTask Business can help you and your team get more done together.

Get More Information

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MeisterTask Business offers large teams a simple, intuitive task management solution that can be customized to suit your business's specific needs. With features distinctly designed for enterprise use, such as: user roles, project access rights, time tracking, automations and more. Find out how exactly MeisterTask Business can help you and your team get more done together.

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"InVideo's Online Video Editor helps you make professional video snippets with templates, images, and music."

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InVideo - Online Video Creator for Content and Marketing Videos

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ai voiceover generator
ai video generator
ai video editor
ai presentation maker
ai video maker
ai meme generator
ai text to video
ai slideshow maker
ai movie maker
ai intro maker
ai ad maker
ai birthday video maker
ai music video maker
ai script to video generator
ai invitation maker
ai youtube intro maker
ai youtube video editor
ai youtube shorts maker
ai tiktok video editor
ai explainer video maker
ai promo video maker
ai video collage maker
ai product video maker
ai faceless video generator
ai outro maker
ai text to video editor
ai image to video maker
ai instagram video editor
ai news video maker
ai instagram reels maker
ai gaming intro maker
ai watermark video maker
ai mp4 maker
ai text to color grade
ai video effects editor
ai video brightness editor
ai picture video maker
ai clipmaker
ai real estate video maker
ai games video editor
ai video editor for chromebook
ai funny video maker
ai facebook ads maker
ai vertical video maker
ai facebook video editor
ai youtube ads maker
ai youtube shorts maker

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Turn ideas into videos | AI video creator | invideo AI

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Make videos easily by giving a prompt to Invideo AI. Ideal for content creators, YouTubers and marketers, invideo AI offers a seamless way to turn your ideas into publish-ready videos with AI.

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"Transform your Blog posts, Podcasts, Videos and PDFs into eBooks, Show Notes, Dynamic Flipbooks, Transcripts, PDFs and Web pages."

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Designrr - Create eBooks, Kindle books, Leadmagnets, Flipbooks and Blog posts from your content in 2 minutes

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In 2014 and 2015, we were spending a lot of time on our blogs writing long-form content. We wanted to bring high value to our readers, but at the same time turn those articles into some form of lead generation system.

It was then that we started converting our blog posts into ebooks and offering them as content upgrades. While the concept was great the truth is that it was taking us forever to create these ebooks.

In fact, at one point we were using 3 different tools just to create one book. We knew that there had to be a better way and as a software company we have always strived towards creating tools that solve real problems.

So, the Designrr story began...

Finally, in 2016, we launched. It was an exciting time. We delivered an ebook creator software tool that took minutes to produce ebooks and lead magnets for our blogs.

We've listened to our customers, seen even more opportunities, and found uses for Designrr that we could never have imagined.

Today Designrr is a powerful content repurposing tool that not only creates ebooks, but also blog posts, all from various different content sources. We are also the only solution that can repurpose video and audio content into ebooks and blog posts within a few minutes.

But this is just the beginning. We're excited to be on this journey and would love for you to come along for the ride. Join us today and you too can start repurposing for better returns on your content.

Import from blog posts, MS Word, Google Docs...

Import from Podcasts, Videos, YouTubes and more...

Multiple Import Options

Import content from your blog, Word (docx), Google Docs, PDF and Audio or Video.

generate blog posts, Kindle books, PDFs & flipbooks and ebooks direct from any YouTube, video or audio file

Create ebooks direct from your blog posts

create a stunning design from Word

revamp an old PDF

create dynamic flipbooks from any PDF you upload

Multiple Export Options

Export as PDF, Kindle, iBooks (epub) and HTML.

create lead magnets & ebooks from your content

sell your eBook on Amazon (Kindle)

upload your eBooks to the Apple Bookstore

embed your book onto your blog

embed your audio or video transcript direct to your website

embed SEO friendly Show Notes on your blog

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Designrr - Create eBooks, Kindle books, Leadmagnets, Flipbooks and Blog posts from your content in 2 minutes

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Upload any web page, MS Word, Video, Podcast or YouTube and it will create a stunning ebook and convert it to pdf, epub, Kindle or Flipbook. Quick and Easy to use. Full Training, 24x7 Support and Facebook Group Included.

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"Vectera is the easy way to meet clients online. Schedule appointments and conduct videomeetings. Create a shared communication hub for each of your clients. Get creative with whiteboards, cobrowsing and document annotation. 1-click start, no downloads, no frustrations. Start for free."

"In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Vectera offers all services for free until the 1st of June."

Hosted in Europe.

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Vectera is the easy way to meet clients online. Schedule appointments and conduct videomeetings. Create a shared communication hub for each of your clients. Get creative with whiteboards, cobrowsing and document annotation. 1-click start, no downloads, no frustrations. Start for free.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Vectera offers all services for free until the 1st of June. Read more on the blog

COVID-19

Use Vectera for free until June 1st - all features included

Schedule. Meet. Repeat.

There is a better way to meet clients online. Improve online client conversations with meeting scheduling + dedicated meeting rooms for each client or project.
Show product overview

Better videomeetings

70% less friction on video meetings

A good conversation with clients is key

-Stable video meetings
-Fast start without installations
-More interaction with co-browsing and whiteboarding
-Pick up the conversation from previous meeting

Integrated workflow

90% time on customer, 10% on administration, not vice versa

Regularly meeting with the same client?
Automate the time-consuming process of scheduling, uploading documents and data-entry with extensive workflow automation:

-Let clients book meetings with you with the integrated booking app
-Pre-fill meeting rooms with relevant content
-Integrate your CRM for notes and contact synchronisation

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Vectera is the easy way to meet clients online. Schedule appointments and conduct videomeetings. Create a shared communication hub for each of your clients. Get creative with whiteboards, cobrowsing and document annotation. 1-click start, no downloads, no frustrations. Start for free. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Vectera offers all services for free until the 1st of June.

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from Blackboat (in german).

3 free downloadable documents, which explain the start of working with Slack, Office 365 or the G Suite.

+ the link to the live remote work help show of Blackboat.

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Wir streamen seit Montag, den 16. März täglich ab 11:00 Uhr auf Youtube zur Frage, wie die Auswirkungen der Corona-Krise in unserer Arbeitswelt bewältigt werden können. Unser Ziel ist es jetzt dabei zu helfen, dass nicht alles zum Erliegen kommt und wir dennoch in der Lage sind Arbeit, Familie und Krisenmanagement unter einen Hut zu bringen.

Wir werden unsere Erfahrung der letzten 10 Jahre Collaboration Tools und Cloud IT mit den wichtigen Learnings für Home Office Arbeit und transparenter Kommunikation hier im Stream teilen und auch Partner, Kunden, Betroffene und wichtige Entscheider mit einbinden.
Wir rufen jeden, der zuschaut dazu auf mitzuwirken und nicht kopflos, sondern mit klarem Verstand zu handeln. Was es jetzt braucht sind durchdachte Antworten statt emotionaler Reaktionen.

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Wir streamen seit Montag, den 16. März täglich ab 11:00 Uhr auf Youtube zur Frage, wie die Auswirkungen der Corona-Krise in unserer Arbeitswelt bewältigt werden können. Unser Ziel ist es jetzt dabei zu helfen, dass nicht alles zum Erliegen kommt und wir dennoch in der Lage sind Arbeit, Familie und Krisenmanagement unter einen Hut zu bringen.

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An article from Harald Schirmer (in german).

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Homeoffice fühlt sich schnell an wie Arbeiten in einer Telefonzelle

Ein großer Teil der Entscheider und Mitarbeiter ist in Corona Zeiten im Homeoffice. Wie zu erwarten war, sind Video-Konferenzen jetzt plötzlich der Kommunikationskanal für so Vieles. Was in vielen Organisationen Jahrzehnte gedauert hat (oder hätte), geht jetzt scheinbar über Nacht. Das lässt natürlich jeden Organisationsentwickler aufhorchen: „Wer hätte nicht gerne eine derartige Wirkung in seine Veränderungsmaßnahmen" - vor allem völlig unabhängig von Hierarchie, Funktion, Land oder Alter.

Zurück zum Titel des Beitrags und meine Tipps.

Was im physischen Zusammenleben und Arbeiten selbstverständlich ist: Der Austausch ohne Agenda, vorgegebenes Thema oder jemanden der einlädt

(der sogenannte informelle Austausch) ist eine extrem wichtige Basis für den Erfolg im Arbeitskontext. Dieser findet in der Kantine, am Gang, am Drucker, in der Kaffee Ecke oder auf dem Weg zum Meeting, Arbeitsplatz oder nach Hause statt.

Viele springen jetzt statt in physische Meetings, in VideoKonferenzen - dabei scheint es automatisch, sobald der Großteil anwesend ist (und die Technik läuft), direkt in die Themendiskussion einzusteigen - und sich scheinbar nahtlos von Termin zu Termin einzuwählen. Hinzu kommt, dass die eigene Bewegung dramatisch eingeschränkt ist, da die Wege zu Hause in der Regel sehr kurz sind. Auch kreative Impulse, Neues oder Dinge, die unsere Gedanken ablenken, welche auf Wegen in den Firmen passieren, sind in den eigenen vier Wänden kaum zu erwarten.

Durch die Isolierung und Distanz durch Homeoffice, braucht es dringend Zeiträume und virtuelle Räume, in denen dieser soziale Austausch gefördert wird. Hier wird (ganz nach dem Eisbergmodell der Kommunikation) die Beziehung aufgebaut, die emotionale Grundlage geschaffen, die uns in fachlichen Gesprächen, Workshops und Entscheidungen das notwendige Vertrauen untereinander aufbaut.

Hier ein paar Empfehlungen um etwas längerfristig „gesund" und kreativ zu bleiben und nebenbei Beziehungen zu verbessern.

(Ich spreche aus inzwischen mehr als 10 Jahren Erfahrung mit Homeoffice, davon Arbeiten seit Mitte 2016 komplett von zu Hause aus - mit 600km Distanz zu meinem „Standort")
Virtuelle Kaffee Ecken einrichten

Virtuelle Kaffe Ecke - BegegnungsVideoRaum

Eine Videokonferenz zu bestimmten Zeiten (oder den ganzen Tag) einrichten, in die sich Jeder (aus der Abteilung, Funktion oder wirklich „jeder") einfach einwählen kann und - wie vor der Kaffee Maschine - ohne Themenvorgabe unterhalten kann. Ohne Moderator, Kontrolle, Protokoll.
ESN - Soziale Netzwerke sind essentiell für Informellen Austausch

Enterprise Social Network - perfect for social interaction, learning, culture, inspiration, scalable movements

Wie oft trifft man auf dem Firmengelände alte Kollegen, ehemalige Chefs, den Pförtner, Mitarbeiter aus anderen Bereichen - ohne das geplant zu haben? Selbst auf der Treppe oder dem Fahrstuhl entstehen oft kurze inspirierende Gespräche, Neuigkeiten werden ausgetauscht, Hinweise gegeben, Relevantes macht die Runde. Wer schon ein Enterprise Social Network in der Organisation hat, kann das jetzt nutzen um auch außerhalb des eigenen „Silos" Kontakte zu pflegen, sich zu informieren (über das eigene Netzwerk und deren Kontakte), seine Informationen „Sharen" an eine nicht vorher definierte Zielgruppe.
Auch ermöglicht ESN Beteiligung an jetzt sehr wichtigen Themen, Diskussionen und vor Allem Austausch über Erfahrungen, Best-Practices oder auch Gefahren, Risiken - und Empfehlungen.
hier noch eine Reihe weiterer Aspekte, warum ESN gerade für Führungskräfte essentiell ist.
„Ankommen" in die Agenda einbauen

How are you?

Dauert eine Videokonferenz eine Stunde, sollte man 10 Minuten am Beginn reservieren, um sich etwas auszutauschen (ist gleichzeitig Techniktest - und man hört jeden einmal, um später die Stimme besser zuordnen zu können. Das kann durch eine Frage eingeleitet werden: z.B. „Welche Routine hilft Euch aktuell am besten?" oder bei internationalen Calls gerne auch ein kurzer Status „Welche Aktion in Eurem Land findet Ihr aktuell am sinnvollsten?" (man erfährt dadurch voneinander was den Teilnehmern wichtig ist, was sie bewegt)
Dinge ansprechen / respektvolle Transparenz

Im physischen Meeting ist vieles normal und braucht keine großen Erklärungen. Wer von zu Hause aus arbeitet, muss sich keinen Platz suchen, den Koffer abstellen, seinen Rechner anschließen etc. Dafür gibt es andere Störungen, Verpflichtungen, die jedem passieren können.
Als Moderator sollte man typische Dinge kurz ansprechen: Wer raus muss, wegen Kindern, Toilette, Postbote etc, einfach kurz in den parallelen Chat eine Info schreiben „Bin kurz weg/Bin wieder da" (stört nicht und es kommt nicht zu peinlichen Situationen, weil plötzlich keine Antwort mehr kommt)
Bio-Break, gemeinsames Essen

Bedürfnisse respektieren

Bei längeren Terminen nicht vergessen, Toilettenpausen einzubauen - viele trauen sich bei laufender Kamera nicht aufstehen - spätestens nach 60 Minuten. Auch ein gemeinsames Mittagessen bei laufender Kamera ist sicher unterhaltsamer, als alleine in die Küche zu gehen. In der Kantine sehen wir uns auch beim Essen zu - also keine Scheu - gerade international ist das super spannend zu sehen, was in den jeweiligen Ländern gegessen wird. Das erzeugt persönliche Begegnung und baut Nähe/Vertrauen auf.
Gemeinsames Streching oder Meditieren

Streching, Yoga, gemeinsames Atmen geht auch per Video

Als kleine Maßnahmen zur Aktivierung aber auch um „runter zu kommen" bzw. zu Fokussieren eignen sich kurze - angeleitete Sport-Einlagen (Schulterkreisen, Stecken... kleine Übungen am Arbeitsplatz) oder gemeinsames Meditieren (das kann 1 Minute gemeinsam mit geschlossenen Augen tief Atmen oder angeleitete Meditation sein) - einfach mal fragen - in der Regel gibt es immer jemanden, der so etwas anbieten kann. In der Video-Konferenz ist das eine sehr sinnvolle Intervention.
Lauf-Meetings

Gemeinsam - allein - spazieren gehen geht auch per Telefon/Videokonferenz

Teile von virtuellen Meetings können/sollte vielleicht sogar „mobil" stattfinden. Gerade Diskussionen, Brainstorming oder Austausch zu neuen Themen ist wesentlich inspirierender, wenn nicht jeder statisch vor der Kamera sitzt. Wer ein Smartphone besitzt, kann einen Spaziergang machen und unterwegs teilnehmen - mit oder ohne Kamera (das wirkt Wunder!). Sollten Notizen notwendig sein, kann einer am Platz bleiben und „Protokoll" führen. (Diese Praxis kann an natürlich auch nach Corona in physische Meetings einbauen 😉
Virtual Reality Räume (kostenlos) nutzen - und ohne Brille!

Virtual Reality mit Mozilla Hubs, AltaVR, TriCAT - je nach Bedarf - alles auch ohne VR Brille möglich

Besonders spannend ist hier auch „Virtual Reality": Dort hat man echte 3D Räume, in denen nicht nur einer Reden und alle anderen Zuhören können, sondern viele treffen können und unabhängig/parallel Gespräche führen. Das hat auch den Vorteil, einen gemeinsamen (virtuellen) Raum zu teilen - dieses Gefühl stellt sich tatsächlich durch die Avatare sehr schnell ein. Dafür ist nicht zwangsläufig viel Geld, eine VR Brille oder große technische Kenntnisse notwendig - unter Mozilla Hubs oder AltspaceVR ist das schnell eingerichtet.

mehr zu Virtual Reality erfahren (demnächst auch eine Analyse der diversen „Welten" und was die Unterschiede sind)

Resümee

Sicher gibt es noch viele weitere Möglichkeiten, virtuelle Meetings aktiver, inspirierender, kurzweiliger, kreativer und Beziehungsfördernder aufbauen. Im Kern geht es mir hier aber vor Allem darum, den im virtuellen Kontext fehlenden „informellen Austausch", den Zufall jemandem relevanten zu begegnen zu kompensieren. ESN und die genannten Praktiken sind dafür sicher sehr geeignet - und je länger eine Quarantäne dauert, um so wichtiger werden zwischenmenschliche Begegnungen - sonst droht „Lagerkoller", „Depression", „Einsamkeit" aber auch geschäftlich schlechtere Ergebnisse, Informationsverlust, Innovationsverlust...
Chancen nutzen und Erfolge teilen
Diese Situation als Chance zu nutzen, fehlende digitale (und methodische) Reife zu verbessern und nicht nur den Kompromiss „virtuelle Konferenzen" zu verbessern, sondern auch Möglichkeiten, die im physischen Rahmen nicht möglich sind (skalierung, orts- und zeit-unabhängigkeit) später wieder in den physischen Raum zu integrieren, sind groß... lasst Sie uns nutzen, erweitern und teilen!

Vielen dank an PixaBay und ihre Kreativen für die Fotos

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Informellen Austausch im Homeoffice verbessern " Harald Schirmer

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Ein großer Teil der Entscheider und Mitarbeiter ist in Corona Zeiten im Homeoffice. Wie zu erwarten war, sind Video-Konferenzen jetzt plötzlich der Kommunikationskanal für so Vieles. Was in vielen Organisationen Jahrzehnte gedauert hat (oder hätte), geht jetzt scheinbar über Nacht. Das lässt natürlich jeden Organisationsentwickler aufhorchen: „Wer hätte nicht gerne eine derartige Wirkung in seine ...

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CoSpace EDU - Build AR- / VR-Content easily with user-friendly creation tools.

Free License available to test as much as you want.

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We care about your students' privacy. CoSpaces Edu takes student privacy very seriously and is COPPA and FERPA-compliant.

We have several measures in place to make sure that the data that you and your students store in CoSpaces Edu is always kept safe.

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CoSpaces Edu for kid-friendly 3D creation and coding

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Boost your kids' learning experience by letting them invent, build and code their own creations. Runs on mobile, tablet and desktop, including Chromebooks.

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Adapt is an Open Source html5 Authoring Tool for Instructional Designers.

Adapt is supported by a worldwide community and some big eLearning companies use the tool.

Here are some examples:
https://www.adaptlearning.org/index.php/adapt-showcase/

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The Adapt authoring tool is a server-based web application to allow you and your team to quickly build responsive e-learning content.

Being a server-based tool, it's accessed by users via a web browser, and lets you easily create beautiful Adapt courses using any combination of existing tried-and-tested Adapt plugins to add interactivity and functionality, and rich multimedia assets and themes to add visual flair.

You can preview your e-learning creations straight from the authoring tool, or quickly and easily package them up for uploading to your SCORM-compliant LMS - all straight out-of-the-box.

The Adapt authoring tool uses a combination of software platforms that usually run on a web server, rather than on your computer.

This web app structure allows the tool to be installed once and accessed by many users, in the same way that an LMS or webmail application works.

Currently using the authoring tool involves some manual steps in the command line interface to get all the pieces installed and working correctly together. We provide step by step instructions on installing the authoring tool. For non-technical people, we recommend to have technical help at hand for the installation process.

The Adapt authoring tool is designed to be used on a desktop computer, although the fully responsive HTML5 output is suitable for devices from smartphones to large desktop monitors.

The server prerequisites for the Adapt authoring tool are:

For users, the authoring tool supports all modern web browsers:

Chrome

Firefox (ESR + latest version)

Edge

IE11+

Safari 11+

Opera

To install the authoring tool on a web server or create your own development environment follow the server installation instructions.

If you haven't done this kind of thing before, we recommend having technical help at hand, as some of the steps can get a bit tricky.

VERSION (will be dynamically replaced) was released on

The full Changelog is available on GitHub.

Notable features:

Create fully responsive HTML5 output

Compatible with the latest Adapt framework

Support for framework plugins (both core and custom)

Maintain a library of assets

Full support for multi-user collaboration

Ability to export course source code for standalone command-line development

Ability to import courses created in other installs or the framework

Feature Roadmap

The Adapt authoring tool is one of the fastest-progressing parts of the project, and we always have a long list of features queued up for development. If you're interested in what's coming next to the Adapt authoring tool, visit this page for more information.

As a side-note: being an open-source project, we rely on time 'donations' from project collaborators. Because of this, we choose not to publish any specific release schedules, as these are highly likely to be inaccurate. If there's a feature you require urgently, we would be very grateful for any developer-resource you are able to spare for our cause.

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The Adapt authoring tool is a server-based web application to allow you and your team to quickly build responsive e-learning content. Being a server-based tool, it's accessed by users via a web browser, and lets you easily create beautiful Adapt courses using any combination of existing tried-and-tested Adapt plugins to add interactivity and functionality, and rich multimedia assets and themes to add visual flair.

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How to use Microsoft Teams - How-To Videos and Tutorials in German

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Sehen Sie, wie Sie Besprechungen planen können und wie Sie Besprechungen zu- und absagen und beitreten.

Beachten Sie den Unterschied: Nur wenn Sie eine Besprechung im Kontext eines Teams planen, liegen Dateien, Chatnachrichten oder die Aufzeichnung auch tatsächlich im Team. Ansonsten sind sie gespeichert im OneDrive for Business der jeweiligen Teilnehmer.

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Microsoft Teams Lernpfad - Office 365 Akademie

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Sehen Sie, wie Sie Besprechungen planen können und wie Sie Besprechungen zu- und absagen und beitreten. Beachten Sie den Unterschied: Nur wenn Sie eine Besprechung im Kontext eines Teams planen, liegen Dateien, Chatnachrichten oder die Aufzeichnung auch tatsächlich im Team. Ansonsten sind sie gespeichert im OneDrive for Business der jeweiligen Teilnehmer.

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The content of the O365 Academy (german content) can be integrated in the O365 landscape

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Die Videoserie "Produktiver Arbeiten mit Office 365" hilft Ihnen, Ihre Mitarbeiter auf dem Laufenden zu halten und eine umfassendere Nutzung von Office 365 sicherzustellen. Wir liefern Ihnen jeden Monat neue Videos - sortiert nach Apps und nach Zielgruppe. Sie entscheiden, welche Videos Sie in Ihr in Office 365 integriertes Lernportal übernehmen möchten. Gerne übernehmen wir für Sie auch den Upload. Sie erhalten dann eine Zusammenfassung der bestellten Videos per Mail und können diese direkt an Ihre Mitarbeiter weiterleiten.

Fordern Sie gleich Ihren Demo-Zugang an - selbstverständlich unverbindlich und kostenlos.

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Office 365 Akademie - Produktiver Arbeiten mit Office 365

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Office 365 bietet viele Apps und Funktionen - und jeden Monat werden es mehr. Die Office 365 Akademie und das Office 365 Netzwerk bieten Ihnen alles um mit Office 365 produktiver zu arbeiten: News über die monatlichen Neuerungen, Tipps, Videos, Linkempfehlungen sowie Hinweise auf Veranstaltungen und UserGroups!

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Red global de servidores VPN

Proton VPN tiene cientos de servidores VPN seguros en todo el mundo, de los cuales varios son gratuitos. Esto garantiza que siempre tengas cerca un servidor con un alto ancho de banda, independientemente del lugar desde el que te conectes, y te ofrece una conexión VPN de baja latencia para disfrutar de un mejor rendimiento.

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Proton VPN tiene cientos de servidores VPN seguros en todo el mundo, de los cuales varios son gratuitos. Esto garantiza que siempre tengas cerca un servidor con un alto ancho de banda, independientemente del lugar desde el que te conectes, y te ofrece una conexión VPN de baja latencia para disfrutar de un mejor rendimiento.

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You can use one of the secure collaboration tools as well.

See column Secure Collaboration

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Zoom is the most stable and best video-conferencing tool I used so far, but it has data protection issues.
https://mashable.com/article/zoom-conference-call-work-from-home-privacy-concerns/?europe=true

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/k7e599/zoom-ios-app-sends-data-to-facebook-even-if-you-dont-have-a-facebook-account

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/technology/zoom-security-dropbox-hackers.html

UPDATE: It seems like they are getting better in data security...
https://www.datenschutz-guru.de/zoom-ist-keine-datenschleuder/ (in german)

https://www.datenschutz-guru.de/zoom-ist-keine-datenschleuder/#update16

Or perhaps not...
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pke4vb/zoom-faces-class-action-lawsuit-for-sharing-data-with-facebook

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/31/zoom-meeting-encryption/

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Modernize workflows with Zoom's trusted collaboration tools: including video meetings, team chat, VoIP phone, webinars, whiteboard, contact center, and events.

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I couldn't find enough information to say if it's really secure or not, but it is from the same company as LastPass. Security seems to be okay.

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GoToMeeting Video Conferencing & Online Meeting Software

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GoToMeeting comes fully loaded with online meeting features so your business can deliver the best video conferencing experience. Learn more today.

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A really nice looking video-conferencing tool.

My own little online research didn't show any security issues so far.

Hosted in ? I guess in the US.

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Secure email: ProtonMail is free encrypted email.

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Get encrypted email Introducing Encrypted Email for Your Mobile Device Protect your privacy ProtonMail is email that respects privacy and puts people (not advertisers) first. Your data belongs to you, and our encryption ensures that. We also provide an anonymous email gateway. Free Secure Email We believe email privacy should be available to all.

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A 2-Year Stanford Study Shows the Astonishing Productivity Boost of Working From Home

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A 2-Year Stanford Study Shows the Astonishing Productivity Boost of Working From Home

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There has been much debate about working from home and whether or not it's a productivity boost or major productivity drain. Paranoid managers envision employees lying on their couches at home in Metallica concert T-shirts eating Doritos off their belly and watching Ellen.

But Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom has definitive data that paints a very different picture and indicates it's time once and for all to embrace and enable the benefits of working from home.

Bloom found a willing lab rat for a ground-breaking experiment in his graduate economics class at Stanford-James Liang, co-founder and CEO of Ctrip, China's largest travel agency, with 16,000 employees. The CEO was interested in giving employees the work-from-home option because office space in the company's Shanghai HQ is supremely expensive and because employees had to endure long commutes to work (not being able to afford city living). The result was horrendous attrition.

So Liang wanted to make the work-from-home move but needed proof it wouldn't tank productivity.

Enter Bloom, who helped design a test whereby 500 employees were divided into two groups-a control group (who continued working at HQ) and volunteer work-from-homers (who had to have a private room at home, at least six-month tenure with Ctrip, and decent broadband access as conditions).

You can watch Bloom describe the study and the findings in his 2017 TEDx talk below.

Bloom expected the positives and negatives to offset each other. But he was wrong.

Instead, the robust, nearly two-year study showed an astounding productivity boost among the telecommuters equivalent to a full day's work. Turns out work-from-home employees work a true full-shift (or more) versus being late to the office or leaving early multiple times a week and found it less distracting and easier to concentrate at home.

Additionally (and incredibly), employee attrition decreased by 50 percent among the telecommuters, they took shorter breaks, had fewer sick days, and took less time off. Not to mention the reduced carbon emissions from fewer autos clogging up the morning commute.

Oh, and by the way, the company saved almost $2,000 per employee on rent by reducing the amount of HQ office space.

One surprising finding did put a cautionary veneer over going all in on work-from-home, however. More than half the volunteer group changed their minds about working from home 100 percent of the time-they felt too much isolation.

The research comes with a valuable recommendation.

The sum total of the research led Bloom to recommend going for it with work from home but enabling it just a few days a week versus its being a constant.

I think Bloom is right on with his recommendation. Here's why.

I switched from a corporate, office-driven environment to the work-from-home life (except when I'm keynoting) of an author, speaker, and coach.

I feel I'm consistently at the most productive I've ever been in my entire life. My morning commute is a seven-second walk to my study and I actually start working far earlier than I did in the corporate world.

While I make it a point to not work any later than I did at a corporate office, I'm working more deeply with far fewer breaks in concentration. I quite often "get on a roll" that lasts four-plus hours at a time. I can't remember the last such streak working in an office.

I'm able to be so intense and productive that on most days I intentionally break my day up with exercise, which refreshes me and recharges me for another "burst" in the back half of the day. I was never able to do this in a corporate office setting.

I've written before about the one downside of working from home day in and day out -it can be lonely. I can absolutely see how it could impact team cohesion. So Bloom's recommendation to dive in but keep an eye toward maintaining face-to-face contact and cohesion makes a lot of sense.

The nature of every job does not necessarily lend itself perfectly to working from home, even a few days a week. The bigger thought here is that it's time to erase the stigma about telecommuting in general.

It's time for working from home to formally find a home in your company's portfolio of engagement tools.
Originally published at www.inc.com

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A 2-Year Stanford Study Shows the Astonishing Productivity Boost of Working From Home

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There has been much debate about working from home and whether or not it's a productivity boost or major productivity drain. Paranoid managers envision employees lying on their couches at home in Metallica concert T-shirts eating Doritos off their belly and watching Ellen.

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Suddenly working at home? We’ve done it for 22 years—and have advice

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Suddenly working at home? We’ve done it for 22 years—and have advice

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No matter where you live or work, the novel coronavirus means you've probably begun exploring the option of working from home instead of a centralized office. (In many cases, "option" is a gentle way of putting it.) Here at Ars Technica, our staffers have seen their phones and messaging apps blow up with countless versions of the following: "How the heck do you pull off this whole work-from-home thing?"

We're in a position to know. Ars Technica has operated as a remote workforce since it was founded in 1998, decentralized and connected entirely by Internet-fueled collaboration. If this is news to you, fear not: Senior Technology Editor Lee Hutchinson wrote a massive February explainer about how our site functions this way. That feature is one part of a recent remote-work series, and its other entries have focused largely on the business feasibility of the practice.

But that conversation's tenor is shifting rapidly in the face of coronavirus, and you might be more interested in a broader set of impressions and tips. Thus, we're here to offer ways big and small to improve your remote workplace experience, based on our staff's years of doing it successfully. These range from brief to lengthy, and they include suggestions that may seem obvious or silly to some, but sometimes in the course of working from home, the little stuff adds up in a big way.

Above all else, we're here for you. Expect more coverage about the work-from-home transition from Ars Technica in the weeks to come, and hit us up if you start feeling a bit insane. Even when you work from home, take it from us: you're not alone.

Doctor's orders: Jay Timmer, Ph.D., Senior Science Editor

Your office needs to have a view. Trees, birds, open sky-just something you find appealing so that when you raise your head from your screen to clear your mind, there's something there that you want to see.

Have an exercise and activity routine. Many studies have shown that simply getting up and moving a bit is incredibly positive for your health. When you can set up your office with everything you need and don't have to get up and find co-workers or go out for food, it's easy to just go completely sedentary. Establish a routine to avoid that.

Have a default activity for when you need a break from work-something you shift to easily, without having to spend the time thinking about what you want to do. One of the big problems for me is that I usually need a break when i'm already feeling drained and not thinking clearly, so the last thing I want is to have to start an internal debate about what I want to do.

Location, location, location: Timothy Lee, Senior Tech Policy Reporter

Have a physically separate workspace-ideally a separate office or at least a desk that's dedicated to work. Put it as far as possible from the kitchen, laundry room, TV, and other sources of domestic distraction. You want to take regular breaks throughout the day, but it should take a bit of time and effort to get there so you're not constantly tempted to distract yourself with snacks, chores, or whatever.

It's Slack, not slacking: Lee Hutchinson, Senior Technology Editor

In my experience, what helps more than anything is to have coworkers who are also virtual. At a past job I held a role for a year or so where I was the only remote teammate in a large Bellevue, Washington-based administration team. On the upside, this meant I could work from home at need; I had access to a physical office in my city, but I was just as remote from my team there as at home. On the downside, it meant that I missed out on a huge amount of communication. Everyone was in the office, catching each other in the hall for informal communication, sticking their heads over cube walls to ask quick questions or hash out ideas verbally, BSing around the coffee pot, and all the other normal office things one does. Unless someone specifically called my desk phone or hit me up in an instant message or email, I was more or less isolated.

Working at Ars with a fully remote team means the majority of our interaction occurs within Slack, including the informal goof-off stuff that's so important for building shared experiences and reinforcing team cohesion. The "time-wasting" aspects of Slack that might make it a questionable fit for teams using it to supplement a physical office are important when that's (more or less) the only socialization you get with coworkers.

So I guess that's a long way of saying that at least some kind of human contact is a must. Everybody's got days when they need to be head-down on a project and don't want to be bothered, of course, but having someone in a similar situation as you, with whom you can share a dumb link or have a quick laugh over a shared joke, is absolutely vital to mental health.

Shelter in its many forms: Jennifer Ouellette, Senior Writer

I have spent much of my career working from home long before I joined Ars, and I absolutely agree it makes a huge difference having everyone working remotely. It's the same kind of bonding via shared experience that takes place in a physical office, only virtually. When it was just me, I still found ways to build online communities, e.g., through a group of science-writer friends (including Dr. Timmer). We started out with an email list, then graduated to a Slack channel (which I visit far less frequently these days because I'm spending all my time on the Ars Slack-it meets the same need).

I honestly have never really struggled with working from home. It suits my temperament more than your standard office setting, and I've always been good at establishing my own daily routine and structure. But I noticed early on that without some regular social interaction in meatspace, it was way too easy to get lost in my own head and get a bit "tweaky." Case in point: my spouse, Sean, was on a speaking tour in Australia for two weeks last month, and I made sure to schedule some time with friends a couple of times a week until he returned: meeting a fellow writer for tea and carbs, for instance, having a girls' brunch and movie outing, or stopping by our local animal shelter to pet some rescues and help out for an hour or so. (We adopted our two cats from there, so I feel invested. 😊)

Speaking of which: pets are a great outlet for short breaks during the day. I like looking up from the keyboard to see a napping kitty curled up on my Time Capsule or wanting to play fetch or get a few scratches.

I have always, like John, staked out time for regular workouts during the day, just to get me out of the house and away from my desk for a couple of hours. It's also great for mind/body balance: working out gives my brain a rest so I can come back to work refreshed, ready to pound through any tough story or fit of writer's block/brain fog that might have been plaguing me earlier. I can also often multitask during workouts by watching films or TV series that I might review, further countering those couch-potato tendencies. If you can review work documents or watch necessary video content while moving, that's an option with or without a home treadmill; just watch your phone-glancing step if you take it outside. Which I suggest. While it's better to physically leave the house for workouts, we do have the NordicTrack equivalent of a Peloton for those days when it's just not feasible (say, a voluntary self-quarantine during a pandemic).

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Suddenly working at home? We've done it for 22 years-and have advice

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No matter where you live or work, the novel coronavirus means you've probably begun exploring the option of working from home instead of a centralized office. (In many cases, "option" is a gentle way of putting it.)

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Remote Work Insights You’ve Never Heard Before

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Remote Work Insights You’ve Never Heard Before

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Distributed teams often perform better than in-person teams. We look at why. image credit

The biggest benefits of setting up your company for remote work are not the ones you think

Remote work is becoming more common all the time, yet the arguments for it seem frozen in time. Yes, hiring people who can work anywhere gives you a bigger, more diverse pool of talent, lowers attrition, and may offer cost savings in salaries or office space. But the biggest benefits of remote work are a lot more subtle - and more powerful - than you'd expect.

Indeed, what makes remote teams so effective is that they're breeding grounds for trust - the key ingredient for high-performing workplaces. That probably sounds counter-intuitive to you. But after more than two decades of working on and running remote teams, I've discovered several surprising truths about remote work.

Remote work comes in several flavors, each of which has different dynamics, so let's start by defining our terms.

In mostly in-person companies, the majority of employees work from HQ and a few people or specialized teams may work remotely (like sales or customer support). Individuals may work from home occasionally, but most of the work is with people who are colocated - that is, they share the same physical space.

In satellite setups, companies have an HQ and one or more additional offices in which everyone works. Individuals who work closely with people in other offices may have experiences similar to remote employees who work from home.

In partially distributed or hybrid setups, companies have a combination of offices and remote employees. The most successful of these operate in a remote-first fashion, in which they set up all communications and meetings with the expectation that employees will engage virtually.

Companies that are fully distributed have no physical offices. The employees work on their own, using a physical space of their own choosing (home, coffee shop, coworking space, etcetera).

For our purposes, I'm going to use the phrase distributed teams to talk about fully and partially distributed setups as I've described them above; satellite setups tend to have different dynamics, which I'll discuss, too. I'm specifically not addressing outsourced or offshored work, as that's a different model, with very different properties.

Before we go on, let's acknowledge that no distributed arrangement is perfect. Some kinds of work, particularly the planning and generative stages of a project, feel harder from a distance. If you work with colleagues in different time zones, you already know that it can be more difficult to find mutually agreeable times to meet than if you all work together. If you have cowokers in different cities, regional communication differences can create surprising rifts. And as even my dog knows, video bandwidth is unreliable and the tone of written communications is easy to misread.

At the same time, colocated work is not perfect. It requires financially and environmentally expensive offices and commutes, plus time spent commuting. It favors extroverts and neurotypical workers. And, as we'll see here, it involves other, less obvious tradeoffs that can have big effects.

In short, any setup involves compromises. You can gain advantage by understanding the potential strengths of a particular setup and accounting for its losses.

Below, I talk about why distributed teams might be more effective than you expect - and often more effective than colocated teams - plus some other under-the-radar benefits of remote work.

In my experience, distributed teams are often more productive and less political than colocated teams. That's not what most people expect. So why might it be true?

Trust among coworkers is a key component of high-performing teams. Research, and likely your own experience, back this up. When you believe your colleagues are capable, reliable, honest and committed to the common good, it's a pleasure to work with them. As this HBR article explains:

Employees in high-trust organizations are more productive, have more energy at work, collaborate better with their colleagues, and stay with their employers longer than people working at low-trust companies. They also suffer less chronic stress and are happier with their lives, and these factors fuel stronger performance.

Conventional wisdom says that distributed teams are inherently low trust. Usually, a seemingly obvious statement is given as proof, something like: "Employees can't be expected to trust people they've never met." But people don't trust others simply because they've met in person. In fact, I recently mentioned to a friend that I prefer working on distributed teams, because I like the inherent sense of trust among coworkers I've found on them - a stronger sense than I've found on most in-person teams.

My theory is that a combination of three things underlie this experience of stronger trust: 1) people with personal propensity toward trust are drawn to remote work; 2) remote teams develop swift trust; and 3) ingroup bias creates a shared basis of trust among remote coworkers. These three factors combine into a strong foundation for remote teamwork. Let's look at them more closely.

Personal propensity. Different people build trust in different ways. I'm going to simplify a bit here, but basically, some people assume trust in work relationships, while others look for coworkers to earn it. The first group assumes a level of trust at the outset and uses experiences together to build or diminish the pool of trust. The second group starts without an assumption of trust, and then observes over time whether others meet their expectations in critical areas - capability, reliability, honesty and commitment to the common good - to build up the pool of trust. In other words, some individuals have a greater propensity to trust others. Anecdotally, people with a higher propensity for trust are more likely than observe-firsters to be drawn to distributed teams.

It's axiomatic that not everyone whose profession allows for remote work actually likes remote work. Some people feel more productive in an office; some like going to lunch with coworkers; some find physical props important for brainstorming; etc. The list of reasons that people prefer colocated work is long. It rarely includes, "I feel more trusted when other people see me in person." But for people who build trust by observing others, and by being observed, it makes sense that seeing each other in person feels critically important. For this group, a distributed environment where you see and are seen less often can feel low trust by default.

At the same time, it makes sense that people who start out with higher assumed trust wouldn't need daily in-person interactions to build a satisfying work environment. In fact, for this group, having to show up at a physical workplace every day can feel paternalistic - as if they aren't trusted by default. These people thrive in an environment where the output they and their coworkers create is central, whether that's shipping code, writing or editing documents, participating in meetings (over video), or other activities that can be done and assessed remotely.

When I was CEO of Lean Startup Productions, a fully distributed company, we started using Slack, the team chat software, in early 2014. We were early adopters, and team norms for its usage weren't yet common. In discussing possibilities, I suggested that it might help us feel more connected across time zones if we each posted in a shared channel daily, saying hello when we started work. One of my top colleagues - collaborative, engaged, friendly, productive - strongly objected to the idea. She had a high personal propensity for trust; to her, the idea that she had to signal she was working felt like monitoring and a challenge to her independence. (How'd we work it out? We agreed to try it for three weeks, and then decide if we wanted to continue. In that time, we learned that it was definitely useful to us for social connection within the team. That built a greater feeling of trust among us, reinforcing the sense that it was a useful practice, rather than feeling like checking up on each other.)

Swift trust. Not only do some individuals have a propensity for trust, but some teams do, too. " Swift trust," a term coined in 1996 by Stanford professor Debra Meyerson and colleagues, describes the interaction that's needed and often takes place on temporary teams with specialized workers solving complex problems. They observed that under these conditions, swift trust emerges as "a unique form of collective perception and relating that is capable of managing issues of vulnerability, uncertainty, risk, and expectations." In other words, these teams have a propensity for trust. Movie sets are a common example of a workplace where teams form swift trust.

Meyerson et al's model focused on temporary teams. But their observations apply, too, to many distributed teams working in modern companies, even when those teams are enduring. In this quote from their paper, I've substituted a few words to show how the model applies (my words are in bold):

As an organizational form, ̶t̶e̶m̶p̶o̶r̶a̶r̶y̶ distributed groups turn upside down traditional notions of organizing. ̶ ̶T̶e̶m̶p̶o̶r̶a̶r̶y̶ Distributed groups often work on tasks with a high degree of complexity, yet they lack the formal structures that facilitate coordination and control. They depend on an elaborate body of collective knowledge and diverse skills, yet individuals have little ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ physical proximity to sort out who knows precisely what. They often entail high-risk and high-stake outcomes, yet they seem to lack the normative structures and institutional safeguards that minimize the likelihood of things going wrong. Moreover, there isn't ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ physical proximity to engage in the usual forms of confidence-building activities that contribute to the development and maintenance of trust in more traditional ̶e̶n̶d̶u̶r̶i̶n̶g̶ colocated forms of organization. In these respects, ̶t̶e̶m̶p̶o̶r̶a̶r̶y̶ distributed groups challenge our conventional understandings regarding the necessary or sufficient antecedents of effective organization.

Now, obviously, most in-person companies today use software to "facilitate coordination and control" (email, chat, calendaring, documents, CRMs, HR and payroll systems, etcetera) - so distributed teams already mimic conventional workplaces in many ways. But the lack of physical proximity to coworkers means that building and maintaining confidence often looks more like it does in temporary teams where swift trust is the organizing force.

O'Reilly Media - having published a book in 1992 that made the Internet more accessible to many, many people - was an early adopter of distributed work. When I was an editor at the company in the early 2000s, we had offices on both coasts and dozens of individuals working from home around the country. I worked for O'Reilly for four years: two years from home, in a city where we didn't have offices, and two years from the HQ, north of San Francisco. I worked on many teams, with many configurations. The most productive one was fully distributed, with everyone in different locations on two coasts.

We didn't have physical proximity on our side, but we built swift trust by figuring out how best to work together. Undistracted by politics in the offices and charged with a clear goal to build out a book series that showed early promise, we invested time early on in defining processes, clarifying our roles, and regularly making adjustments to improve our systems. Those conversations paid off in a self-reinforcing cycle of productivity and further trust. Meyerson et al observed conditions like ours (again, I've substituted a word):

In a t̶e̶m̶p̶o̶r̶a̶r̶y̶ distributed group, people often act as if trust were in place....By observing others acting in a trusting manner, individuals can infer that such a stance is neither foolish nor naive. In this respect, each individual enactment of swift trust in the group, no matter how small, contributes to the collective perception that swift trust is reasonable.

Ingroup bias. I've found that another factor likely bolsters trust at distributed companies, especially at remote-first and fully remote organizations: ingroup bias. An ingroup is simply a social group that somebody feels they're part of and that other people are not. It can be based on deep experiences and identities (being part of a racial or ethnic group) or on superficial commonalities (pronouncing GIF with a hard "g" - that is, correctly). Fully distributed and remote-first companies are still relatively rare - probably well under 20% of United States companies- and employees at these orgs can feel like part of a group that works in an unconventional way. In other words, we're members of an ingroup.

Ingroup bias has a raft of negative elements, like expressing prejudice toward and/or stereotyping outgroup members. But the positive aspects of it include extending greater trust and being more cooperative with ingroup members, even before you know them.

When I worked at 18F, a remote-first tech consultancy within the federal government, many among the several hundred employees placed a very high value on being able to work from the location of our choice. We had a lot of reasons. We hated to commute; we liked to spend that time on other things (exercise, kids, cooking); we had at-home setups that were physically more comfortable than office setups; we liked being able to work while visiting family in other towns; we had tech skills but wanted to live outside hubs like SF or NYC; and many other motivations. But no matter the reasons, there was a strong feeling that remote work let us live our lives in ways that conventional setups wouldn't, and that appreciating an unconventional arrangement made us part of a small group that understood each other. It wasn't a fully proxy for trust, but being part of that small group created fertile ground for building trusting relationships with each other.

Trust - crucial as it is - isn't the only upside to remote-first work. As I noted earlier, there are lots of well-known benefits to companies: productivity, cost and environmental savings, access to global talent, and employee retention. Here are significant advantages I see mentioned rarely or never.

There's real intimacy in seeing your coworkers' homes, partners, kids and pets. Although you get to know people in a certain way by spending time with them, you can also connect deeply with people by getting to know them in their own natural habitat. When you meet regularly over video and see each others' homes, families and pets, you can easily understand them more fully as people than you do in a limited workplace setting. That doesn't mean work hours should bleed into every aspect of life. Quite the contrary: having insight about each others' lives helps you respect boundaries. When kids pop in to ask what time dinner is going to be, or when you know a cat who has appeared on camera regularly, your coworkers' needs outside your meeting - to cook for family, to keep a vet appointment - aren't an abstraction. And, in turn, supporting each other's lives outside work builds more trust.

My former 18F colleague Jen Tress points out an additional and important silver lining: For companies that say they want employees to feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to work, that value becomes a reality when people can appear as parents or show other parts of their lives.

Shoutout to 18F cat Kratos Francisco. Photo: Andre Francisco

(A caveat here: Seeing into each other homes can have risks. For example, a naked spouse is never a good look in the background of a meeting. And parents, particularly moms, are sometimes thought to be less capable or professional when their kids appear at work. If you're in a leadership role, you can help address this issue by letting your own [clothed] kids wander through the video feed sometimes and by asking to say hello to coworkers' kids when they're around.)

Hard conversations can be easier. Hard conversations at work are inevitable. You must explain to a direct report that they aren't getting a raise they wanted; you need to tell your manager that they've misunderstood the implications of a customer complaint; you want to explain to a coworker they drowned out others in an earlier meeting and it caused a problem. One of the awkward aspects of these conversations is that they're likely to provoke emotions and reactions that either party may not want to display at work. When you're three feet away from each other in a small office, those emotions are very visible, they hang in the air palpably, and the physical closeness can itself amp up the vibe. When you're talking over video, it can be easier to diffuse those reactions, or to diffuse their appearance, and to focus on the content of the conversation.

I don't mean to suggest you shouldn't be upset if you don't get a promotion you were expecting, or that you should downplay frustration if a coworker failed to meet an important and promised deadline. Those feelings are real, and they're part of our workplace conversations. But anticipating them can also prompt people to avoid these very discussions. The distance that people experience on video calls can help make it easier to hold these conversations in the first place.

Drama is muted. When I was on staff at O'Reilly Media, the company was based in Sebastopol, CA, with an office in Cambridge, MA and a lot of staff distributed around the country. Initially, I worked from home in New York City; later in my tenure, I moved to California and worked from the headquarters there. When I first started working in the office, I was surprised by the level of day-to-day drama. Working from home, conversations mostly focused on editorial work. Working at HQ, conversations much more often focused on the changing opinions and feelings of executives. Similarly, gossip and rumors made up a much bigger percentage of discussions in person than over distributed channels.

O'Reilly was not a company more interested in HIPPOs or gossip than other companies. But it was an early adopter of remote employment, and the contrast between the distributed experience and the in-office experience was notable. I've since seen that pattern in every other hybrid organization and satellite office I've worked in. Why are the patterns so strong?

Humans are designed to be highly attuned to each other, and analyzing others' behavior is inevitable. What does it mean that the CFO was yelling in a meeting with the CEO? Should I be worried that my boss was joking in the kitchen with one of my peers? Why did one of my direct reports avoid looking me in the eye in the hallway? When you work together in person, you have a lot of information about how other people are acting and a concomitant need to understand it. Thinking and talking about what you see can help you figure out behavior, which can be healthy. But on the flip side, it can lead to speculation, rumors, and a high pitch of concern.

Of course, people yell in meetings, joke with each other, and avoid their bosses in distributed organizations, too. But you don't tend to see those behaviors as often, so you don't spend as much time wondering about them. The means that when you're not colocated, you have considerably more time to focus on customers and shipping work. (It is certainly possible that too little information can breed FUD. But that exists in colocated orgs, too, and smart leaders in any organization get ahead of it.)

You annoy each other less. Are you the kind of monster who likes heating up fish in the microwave for lunch? In an office, this makes you less popular than Voldemort; at home, your stinky food bothers no one. Like to listen to music and hum along as you write, code, or draw? You can sing opera at home and not irk a single team member. Start to quietly hate your colleagues who leave coffee grounds on the counter and dirty dishes in the sink? Your home kitchen need never know how gross they are.

Getting along well with others is a key part of work. When you don't have to share a physical space, you can focus that energy on key tools and collaborations instead. Discussions about Slack hygiene tend to be more important for work outcomes than discussions about kitchen hygiene.

You've got a built-in zone defense - time zone defense, that is. Time zone differences create real and commonly cited problems. But they offer two clear benefits, too. First, if you're in a business where customer-facing coverage is important, having employees spread over time zones makes it easier to address needs around the clock. I currently work at Mailchimp, a hybrid company. Last year, when our Mandrill service had a prolonged outage, the people working to diagnose and address it were spread across four time zones and thus able to take shifts to lighten the load.

Second, if you work regularly with colleagues in other time zones, you may have a natural phase of each day for meetings and a natural phase for heads-down work. When I was at Lean Startup Productions, I was based in New York and most of the team was based in California. That meant mornings were quiet for me, while the rest of the company had Sarah-free late afternoons. When you have colleagues in your time zone and in other time zones, you don't get that automatic phasing of the day. But you can create it intentionally and use the distribution across time zones to help figure out when to prioritize collaboration and when to prioritize individual work.

You can more easily record meetings. If most or all of your meetings take place over video and/or chat, it's automatic or easy to create a record of them. That's useful for sharing discussions and decisions with people who aren't able to attend - not to mention keeping track of when, what and why you decided on things. And recordings or transcripts can be important for people with certain disabilities.

Communicating more about how you work makes for better outcomes. Colocated workers say often that hallway conversations help them gather and share key information. Without unplanned meetings and other unstructured connections, distributed teams have to be intentional about when, where and how they communicate. Should you meet daily, weekly, less often? How should your meetings be structured and facilitated? Where should notes, decisions and files be kept? These questions and more are answered proactively by strong colocated teams, too. But distributed teams don't have the luxury of letting these things arise organically, and they benefit from making these decisions early and often. As a bonus, jointly deciding on and adhering to team norms - like keeping mics muted during video meetings and unmuting to signal you want to talk - help build critically important trust.

You can potentially accommodate more people with disabilities. For people who have disabilities, remote work might mean they're able to contribute more comfortably or sometimes at all. The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) stipulates that employers must make reasonable accommodations (that is, adjustments to the workplace or job) to allow qualified people with disabilities to do a particular job. For companies that have offices, remote work is not a substitute for creating reasonable accommodations in person. But for some employees or candidates with disabilities, at-home setups are personally preferable to any you could create in an office. For other people with disabilities, eliminating the need to commute is a game-changing difference. There's growing awareness that supporting disabled workers is a benefit of remote setups, so I mention it low on the list, but it's a big potential consideration.

Once you understand that different approaches to trust and outgroup bias can be at play in your workplace, you can use that information to prevent, diagnose and address problems in 1:1 relationships or team dynamics.

For example, organizations with strong HQ culture that also have satellite offices and/or remote employees often struggle with outgroup bias. It's not hard to picture: the people in HQ consider themselves a group, other employees are another group - or several other groups - and the various subgroups have outgroup bias toward the others. A good way to combat this phenomenon is to model remote-first practices from the top, so that people in all locations have more similar experiences and feel more connected. At 18F, where some key people, including the executive director, worked in Washington DC, going remote-first involved things like switching the weekly all-hands meetings from a room at HQ to an all-video meeting where everyone - including the exec director and other senior employees who ran the meeting - joined via video from their own laptop. That meant everyone experienced the meeting the same way, could participate in it equally, and didn't feel left out of bonding that happened in person or in Slack during or after the meeting. You can also foster trust by having people visit each other in their own hometowns to get a sense - and hopefully increased empathy - for what their coworkers' day-to-day experiences are like.

Another example: If you have hybrid teams - with some people in offices, especially HQ, and other people remote - don't be surprised if there's friction that stems from different propensity for trust. Look for employees in the office who tend to assume trust, and assign them to the hybrid teams, especially those in leadership roles.

If you're hiring for remote roles, or even for satellite office roles that will work closely with other offices, you might probe for information about how the candidates build trust. During interviews, if you ask a question like, "When you collaborate with peers, how do you build trust quickly?" - look for ready answers about sharing information, helping team members in tough spots, and sharing credit.

As you gain more sophistication in thinking about distributed teams, you'll think of other ways tap their true power. Please share what you learn. Remote work is gaining ground, and we'll all benefit from understanding better how to harness it.
Thanks to Marc Hedlund, Frantz Joseph, and Nassim Kammah for helpful reviews of an earlier draft.

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Remote Work Insights You've Never Heard Before

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The biggest benefits of setting up your company for remote work are not the ones you think Remote work is becoming more common all the time, yet the arguments for it seem frozen in time. Yes, hiring people who can work anywhere gives you a bigger, more diverse pool of talent, lowers attrition, and may offer cost savings in salaries or office space.

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330 tools - Remote Stash

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Meet the largest hand-picked list with tools for remote work. We carefully selected the best 330 tools to use when working remotely.

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Top insights and data from one of the largest remote work reports.

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There isn't much mystery when it comes to working in an office. Every day, you: Get dressed in company-appropriate attire. Commute to work. Join a few meetings. Take coffee breaks. Indulge in hallway conversations and lunches with coworkers. Go see a client. Commute home.

Remote work is completely different.

There's no one-size-fits-all formula. Everyone has different work styles. Different times at which they work. Different work locations. Different time zones.

Even though the rise of remote work isn't a new trend, many people are still figuring out how to work remotely through trial and error, doing their best to stay happy and productive. And it's not just people, companies struggle at making remote work too.

What's the key to getting remote work right?
At FYI, we wanted to understand everything we could about working remotely. Including its challenges, how people feel about it, and the best ways to work remotely.

So we surveyed almost 500 people about remote work and put our findings together in the Remote Work Report.

We had a hunch before we did the research that in spite of the challenges with remote work, people loved it. We were right, except we underestimated just how much people love remote work:

Why do people love remote work?

It's the flexibility. The lack of commute. The reduction of distractions. The ability to travel and live anywhere, including outside of major cities. The increased productivity. And of course the ability to be closer to one's family.

But even though most people love working remotely, remote work has a lot of challenges.

We asked people "What is your #1 challenge with remote work?"

Communication topped the list, with 27% of people mentioning it as their #1 challenge. Remote work makes it harder to read body language, hear what people are saying, ask follow up questions in the hallway, or quickly ask a coworker for clarification at their desk.

Lacking social opportunities was the second largest challenge cited by participants. Office culture doesn't exist when there's no office. That's why people struggle with the lack of social opportunities, like grabbing drinks with coworkers.

Loneliness and isolation was the third most-cited challenge. Sitting at home alone day after day can leave you sapped of energy and feeling down. A few survey participants even mentioned not quite feeling like they were part of the company.

How to thrive as a remote worker

With some consistent effort, you can overcome the challenges of remote work and create a healthy, happy, productive environment for yourself and for your team.

Here are 11 ways to ensure you succeed at remote work in spite of its challenges based on everything we learned. You'll find tips and best practices from people who are working remotely, plus personal advice from my co-founder Hiten and I.

1) Practice good meeting etiquette
In person, it's easy to see if someone is checked out during a meeting. They fiddle with their pen, start reading emails, maybe even begin to doze off. But when calls happen remotely, it's much more difficult to see the telltale signs of disinterest.

Without video, people could be doing anything on the other end of a call - from making lunch to petting their dog to working on something else. That's one reason why having cameras on for all remote calls will help keep you and everyone else on the call alert and engaged.

That's the #1 key to having good remote meetings: simply turn on your camera.

Since your video will be on, make sure to wear a shirt and pants. It may sound ridiculous to call this out, but there are too many embarrassing remote work stories about people showing up to meetings on video without enough on, like this one from our report:

"Meeting with a client who shows up on the Zoom call in the bathroom - not wearing much.... 😩"

Having video on doesn't just connect you with the team (and show everyone what you're wearing), it keeps you on good behavior and paying attention.

Do your best to avoid working on other things or fiddling with your cellphone when you're on a video call. Hearing someone typing during a call or seeing them stare at another project on their screen can feel disappointing for everyone else on the call. Plus the person is probably missing what's going on.

How should we handle video calls with teams that have an office and remote folks?

If one person is remote, everyone is remote.

A team with some people in a single location and others who are remote should treat meetings as if everyone is remote. That means everyone should call in from seperate rooms/spaces.

And make sure to follow standard meeting best practices too. Create and share meeting agendas before the meeting starts. And take down notes, action items and follow ups, plus share them with the team afterwards.

2) Experiment with what makes you most productive
It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking you should be able to sit down at your home office desk in the morning and seamlessly crank out work until nightfall. But without the built-in discipline and natural breaks of an office, things can easily fall apart.

It's up to you to build the best way for yourself to work remotely.

When we work in an office, we take walks to get snacks, chat with coworkers, take coffee and tea breaks, and make time to have lunch away from our desks. But at home, somehow these natural things start to feel as if we're cheating or slacking off.

Suddenly, people are working more hours with fewer breaks, all from the same exact place every day. This is almost certainly a recipe for disaster and burnout.

The best way to escape this trap is to experiment to find the best way that you work. Give yourself permission to try different start times, work from different places, and wear different types of clothing.

Things like the temperature of your work space, your audio setup (headphones, earbuds, microphone), the comfort level of your chair, and the desk you use can all mean the difference between productivity and distraction.

You should also consider the times when you are most productive and want to do independent work, and when you should do less intellectually stimulating work.

If you know you're more productive after taking a long walk with your dog halfway through the day, you should do that.

Try different ways of working, different break times, and working from different places to learn what's best for you.

3) Prioritize documentation and clear communication
Communication dynamics for remote workers are totally different than those for people who are together in an office.

The days of walking over to someone's desk anytime you want to clarify something are over. Suddenly you're dealing with multiple time zones, and communication over Slack and video. Not to mention poor video and audio connections, which is the #1 challenge people have with remote meetings.

Remote work requires purposeful and planned communication. Otherwise things can get misunderstood, or never communicated in the first place.

Make sure to document more than you would normally. For example, create documents to outline your ideas and align on next steps. Those documents will make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Write down as much as you can when it comes to your work. You'll have a much happier time as a remote worker.

At FYI, my co-founder Hiten and I create more documents than we can count. All to ensure that our ideas and what we're working on are communicated properly to one another and to the rest of the team. We also have the added benefit of using our product to keep them organized too 🙂

It's important to go beyond simply documenting. Make sure you share what you've written and discuss it with your team, either in your team's chat app or on calls.

If you feel drawn to, try collaborating using virtual white boards. They'll help you collaborate in real time in a much more visual way than with a regular document. One tool that can help you do this is virtual whiteboarding product Miro.

It's also important to communicate how you're feeling. It's easy for people to see you in an office and notice that something is going really well, or really poorly. But working remotely makes it difficult to spot when something is off. That's why it's essential that you speak up. And if you're a manager, ask the team how they are doing often.

4) Create boundaries between work and life
Boundaries between work and life get blurred for remote workers. Since many of us work from home, suddenly the work environment and the home/life environment merge into one never-ending entity. Wake up, check your email, sit down for breakfast while working, keep working throughout the day, suddenly it's 10pm and we're still working.

I'm personally guilty of this remote work sin. As is my co-founder (don't ask him when his last true vacation was).

This can be extremely unhealthy.

Unplugging is important. To do this, as a remote worker you'll need to create boundaries that help separate work from regular life. Or else, potentially pay the price of burn out, social isolation, even depression.

Decide when you're working, and stop once your day is done. That way, you won't work from sunup to sundown.

One way to create boundaries as a remote worker is by creating a special work space that you can physically walk out of. For people who live in cities with limited apartment space this can be difficult, but if possible, having a separate office with a door that closes can help tremendously in creating boundaries.

Another hack is getting distance from your work electronics. Turn off your phone and computer work-related notifications in the evening and on weekends. Even put your work devices out of reach. I also have much more about this tactic in a post I wrote about Marie Kondoing your digital life.

You can also use a physical object to help your brain realize that work is done for the day. Like a work hat or work shoes (or fuzzy slippers).

Or, you can go even more out of the box and literally walk out of your house and walk back in when it's time to start work. Then do it again when you are done with your work day. Anything to trick your brain into separating work and regular life.

There is another side to boundaries that's worth mentioning. Since you work from home, sometimes family and friends think that means you are always available. If this is the case, you may need to set boundaries with them too by explaining your availability to them.

5) Make yourself visible at work
When you have an office, you're constantly visible to others. This can be bad (you've got a hangover, you weren't able to get any sleep) but typically, it's quite good.

Your boss sees you on the regular and asks what you're working on. You're on people's minds because they bump into you all the time, so they invite you to meetings and set up time to chat. People drop by your desk and say hello. You run into the CEO and give her a quick elevator pitch of what you're working on.

Remote doesn't have this luxury.

Outside of meetings, we're reduced to a name on a Slack sidebar. Unless we take action to become visible.

A simple but highly effective way to stay visible is to let people know what you're working on. It's natural for your teammates - and even your manager - to get caught up in their own day to day. So it's up to you to remind them about what you're doing (and frankly, your existence).

Being responsive as quickly as you can is another form of visibility. If someone asks you a question, whether it's in Slack, Microsoft Teams, or in a comment in a document tool, the faster you get back, the more visible you can seem. That's not to say you should constantly be available at all hours and be open to interruptions, but quick responses can help people see that you're hard at work.

There are lots of ways to stay visible virtually, like being active in Slack, setting up meetings with people on your team, even sharing documents before and after meetings (like notes and agendas). All of these things keep you top of mind to others on your team.

Getting feedback on your work is another form of visibility. And it can be tougher to come by for remote workers since you have to explicitly ask for it much of the time. So ask for feedback, early and often.

6) Schedule time for socializing
Alone at home. Working all day. Wearing fuzzy remote work slippers. Sipping tea while petting your dog (or cat). All these things lend themselves to not going out once your work is done. You're so comfortable, why disturb the peace by leaving the house?

When you work remotely, you miss out on the built-in social benefits of an office, and can easily descend into madness.

Unless you purposely create a social agenda and time to connect with other human beings in person. Like your friends.

This is especially true since, contrary to popular belief, most remote workers are not introverts.

You can also create a faux office culture by connecting with other remote workers in person.

Whatever activities you choose, whether it's time with friends, gym classes, meetups, coffees with people from your co-working space, make sure to actually do them. Put them into your schedule. Ask people to hang out. Ditch the slippers and force yourself to get out of the house.

7) Connect with your teammates
Getting to know your teammates beyond just work will help you feel connected, be more productive and feel happier at work. Even if you mostly work alone, feeling connected to the team will help you enjoy the work you do.

Without connection to your team, you can begin to feel isolated, alone, even unhappy.

If you're able, don't just rush into work when you get on a call. Spend at least a few minutes catching up and see how everyone is doing. The more you can learn about your teammates, the happier you'll be that you're working with them.

You can also dedicate entire meetings to getting to know one another and catching up on things outside of work. Virtual teas/coffees or drinks can work well for this.

Another way to get to know one another is through photos. For example, you can share family photos with the team when you are inspired. Photos from your vacations. And of course, your pets. Plus the things you love doing outside of work.

Here are a few that our team recently shared in Slack:

As always, try to get facetime over video so you can see each other's faces when you're connecting.

8) Do postmortems on key projects
Postmortems are my secret weapon on a remote team. It's how we complete projects so that we're ready to do even better on whatever is next. Postmortems also directly address the biggest challenge with remote work: Communication and documentation.

A postmortem is a written assessment that gets completed once a project is done to help assess how it went and what should happen differently next time.

Whenever a project at FYI is complete, we run through a postmortem. It could be anything from a new feature we built, a marketing initiative, or a serious bug.

Whoever was in charge of the initiative owns filling out the postmortem template with all the pertinent details of a project, and then getting insights from the rest of the team. Here's what we include in our template:

I like to focus on filling out all the nitty gritty details of exactly what happened and why we chose to do the initiative. Once I have a good feel for that, I dive into the results of the initiative. What were the outcomes of the initiative? What went wrong along the way? Next, I go into what we should improve next time, and make sure to add action items with names of team members for each one.

Here's what we always add to the top of our postmortems to help inspire us to be honest and open about what happened:

Once the template is filled out, I make sure to go over the postmortem during a meeting with the key team members who were involved to make sure we didn't miss anything.

For remote teams, since there aren't any hallway conversations about how a project went, postmortems help us get everything down on paper and discussed.

Our aim in doing postmortems is to celebrate what we did, understand the results, and do even better next time. They are one of my favorite tools to use as a remote team and are great for colocated teams as well.

9) Build in accountability
Years ago when I had an office job, a manager used to come by my desk to say hello. Before he announced his presence, he'd stand behind me for a few seconds (probably much more) and scope out what I was working on. Sadly, sometimes it was Hangouts chat or Facebook Messenger. And I was caught red handed. The fear of being caught kept me from slacking off most of the time.

That's why remote work is great. You can chat with whoever you want, whenever you want. Instead of working you can wash the dishes you forgot to wash the night before. Even do your laundry while you're on a call, as long as you keep the video off.

Except... socializing or doing household chores when you're supposed to be working is a recipe for reduced productivity, longer hours, and work-induced woes.

It's easy to fall into these traps as a remote worker. Distractions loom ominously close. And there's no one to regulate you but yourself.

But have no fear, there are plenty of tactics you can use to become more accountable.

The first: timebox each task you're doing. Decide how long something will take and dedicate yourself to working on it during that time.

You can also use a time tracker or alarms to help keep you on track.

Or, block your calendar off so you know when to focus on what and to prevent people from scheduling meetings at that time.

Standard task lists can help you know what you're working on for the day and check it off as you go along. Hiten and I have a shared daily checklist we each add to every day which helps us add in an extra level of accountability since someone else is seeing it.

Sharing what you're planning to do in Slack will help build accountability in for you and your team. If you've said what you're doing, you're much more likely to do it than face the specter of public judgement.

At FYI we do this through what we call daily updates. We share what we accomplished the day before and what we're planning to do today. That way we can let everyone know what we're up to, see what others are working on, and also keep ourselves accountable to our work.

10) Define your and the team's responsibilities
How many times have you done something, only to realize that someone else did the same thing? Or, you finished up a project and delivered it to your manager, only to hear that you didn't do what was asked of you.

On remote teams - where communication is more challenging and things can get lost in translation - it's important to be crystal clear about responsibilities. Otherwise communication mishaps can happen all the time.

If you find that people are confused, there are lots of unnecessary meetings happening, emails flying around, and lots of questions coming your way, it probably means responsibilities aren't clear.

Start by defining responsibilities on a project. Then, write down who is responsible for what, and share it with the team. Getting it documented means way less confusion and wasted time.

If you're suddenly not sure what you're supposed to be doing, ask. Slack your manager, set up a call, make sure that you are clear about what's expected of you. And if you're a manager, check in with your team to find out if they understand their tasks.

11) Focus on your health
If you let it, working from home can sap your energy. I used to always go to the gym on my way home from the office. I had momentum, I had a routine, it was easy to fall into the good habit.

With remote, you're home, so the momentum is to stay at home. It's easiest to be in comfortable clothing, ordering take out and working around the clock. Especially when your pet is asleep on your lap.

This isn't a trap everyone falls into. But it can happen to the best of us. And it's easy to prevent.

A routine can help you get into the groove of healthy activities. Once you do something a few times, you gain momentum to keep doing it. For example, taking time to go to the gym, hiking with your dog, going to a yoga class, or getting time in nature.

Make time for these activities, even if you take a break from the work day and finish working later.

Stay hydrated and make sure to get up from the computer every so often. Practice healthy eating habits if you can. And don't forget about your mental health too. Make sure you celebrate wins and achievements and don't drive yourself to exhaustion and burnout. If you need to take time for a therapist, do that. Whatever it takes for you to be healthy and happy.

"Being a workaholic, you often forget to be physically active throughout the day. I find it's important to get up out of your desk every 30 minutes or so and just stretch and walk around a bit. Sometimes this is easier said than done because being a remote worker means there may not be anyone around to remind you to take a break once in a while. This drive often must come from within." Will Mitbrodt, Engineering Lead at We Work Remotely

What's next for remote work?
Remote work is nothing new. But figuring out exactly how to work remotely, that's still cutting edge.

If you work remotely or have remote team members, these 11 best practices for working remotely should become second nature to you.

We also pulled together nearly 200 tips on remote working that you can explore. For even more remote content, we've put together a growing list of the best remote work resources we could find on the Internet.

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There isn't much mystery when it comes to working in an office. Every day, you: Get dressed in company-appropriate attire. Commute to work. Join a few meetings. Take coffee breaks. Indulge in hallway conversations and lunches with coworkers. Go see a client. Commute home. Remote work is completely different.

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(in german)

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Mit dem Klicken auf den Button übermitteln wir deine angegebenen Daten an unseren Mail-Anbieter und du wirst für unseren redaktionellen Newsletter „All you can read" eingetragen. Du erhältst den Link zu der kostenlosen PDF-Datei mit der ersten Mail, nachdem du deine Anmeldung bestätigt hast . Du kannst dich jeder Zeit vom Newsletter abmelden. Die Datenschutzbestimmungen des Newsletter-Anbieters findest du in unserem Datenschutzhinweis:

Wie kann dieser Guide helfen?

Auch Unternehmen können dazu beitragen, die Ansteckungskurve flach zu halten. Vor allem digital transformierte Firmen haben ein Werkzeug zur Hand, das von großer Bedeutung ist: das Homeoffice. Dieser Guide soll helfen, die Arbeit von Zuhause zu realisieren und somit die Covid-19-Erkrankungsrate so gering wie möglich zu halten.

Er liefert alle wichtigen Fakten zum Thema Homeoffice während der Pandemie. Rechte und Pflichten von Arbeitgebern und Arbeitnehmern werden genauso thematisiert wie Ratschläge zum produktiven Arbeiten von Zuhause, Hygienetipps für den Arbeitsplatz und auch einen Überblick über die wichtigsten Homeoffice-Tools geben wir.

Der kostenlose Guide liefert die Grundlage dafür, auch im Homeoffice produktiv zu arbeiten, und fasst die wichtigsten Punkte für alle Beteiligten zusammen.

Ja. Uns ist wichtig, dass dieses Wissen möglichst viele Menschen erreicht, damit die Ausbreitung des Sars-CoV-2-Virus verlangsamt werden kann. Daher haben wir uns entschieden, für den Guide kein Geld zu verlangen. Trotzdem stecken darin natürlich viel Zeit und Mühe.

Wenn du uns dabei helfen möchtest, auch weiterhin solche Projekte möglich zu machen, freuen wir uns sehr über deine freiwillige Unterstützung.

Wie richte ich meinen Homeoffice-Arbeitsplatz ein?

Ausreichend Bewegung im Homeoffice? So klappt's!

Die wichtigsten Tools für die Arbeit von Zuhause aus

Corona: Arbeit von zu Hause produktiv gestalten

Kommunikation im Team: So gelingt sie trotz Heimarbeit!

Meeting-Situationen effizient bewältigen - darauf musst du achten!

Jetzt unterstützen

Mit dem Guide erhältst du folgende Inhalte:

Den Guide gibt es als praktisches PDF zum Online-Nachlesen oder Ausdrucken.

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Mit dem Klicken auf den Button übermitteln wir deine angegebenen Daten an unseren Mail-Anbieter und du wirst für unseren redaktionellen Newsletter „All you can read" eingetragen. Du erhältst den Link zu der kostenlosen PDF-Datei mit der ersten Mail, nachdem du deine Anmeldung bestätigt hast . Du kannst dich jeder Zeit vom Newsletter abmelden.

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The Learning Strategy and Design Toolbox is a card set containing around 60 methods to help you design your next course.

At the moment the cards are only available in german. But soon there will be an english version as well.

This is one of my own products
https://ldframe.com/shop/

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A german page with lots of examples and links for digital teaching.

Mostly with links to University examples.

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Zum Online-Event

Zum Themenspecial

Zur Themenseite „Lehrkräftebildung"

Auf e-teaching.org finden Sie wissenschaftlich fundierte und praxisorientierte Informationen zur Gestaltung von Hochschulbildung mit digitalen Medien. Das nicht-kommerzielle Portal ist ein Angebot des Leibniz-Instituts für Wissensmedien.

Nächste Termine

Calls und Ausschreibungen

Zum Auftakt unseres Themenspecials „KI in der Hochschulpraxis" gab die KI-Expertin Prof. Dr. Doris Weßels (FH Kiel) einen Überblick über die bisherigen Entwicklungen im Bereich des Einsatzes Künstlicher Intelligenz in der Hochschullehre: Welche Themen sind zentral und welche Veränderungen hat es bereits gegeben?

Lehr-/Lernmaterialien
Lehr-/Lernmaterialien

Das Open-Access-Booklet stellt ausgewählte Einsatzszenarien hybrider Lernräume in der Hochschullehre vor. Es bietet Inspiration und erläutert anschaulich, wie Lehrende selbst hybride Lernräume konzipieren und umsetzen können.

Die Digital Learning Map zeigt Lehr-Lern-Szenarien, die digitale Medien verwenden und an deutschen Hochschulen eingesetzt werden. Nutzen Sie die Sammlung, um sich von neuen Ideen inspirieren zu lassen, Kontakt zu den Ansprechpersonen aufzunehmen oder Ihre eigenen Praxisbeispiele zu teilen.

Wer schon immer einmal wissen wollte, was e-teaching.org eigentlich genau macht, kann sich jetzt in einem fünfminütigen Videoclip über die Arbeit des Portalteams informieren. Ganz herzlichen Dank an dieser Stelle auch den „externen Gästen" im Film: Dr. Hanne Detel und Dr. Andrea Fausel von der Universität Tübingen und Prof. Dr. Christian Spannagel von der PH Heidelberg.

Die Tagung zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum unseres Portals fand am 15. und 16. Juni 2023 unter dem Motto „20 Jahre e-teaching.org - Content (weiter)entwickeln, für die Community und mit der Community" am Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM) in Tübingen statt. Im Rückblick finden Sie in einer Bildergalerie Eindrücke von der Jubiläumsveranstaltung sowie die Aufzeichnungen aller Beiträge.

Erfahrungsberichte
Erfahrungsberichte

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Auf e-teaching.org finden Sie wissenschaftlich fundierte und praxisorientierte Informationen zur Gestaltung von Hochschulbildung mit digitalen Medien. Das nicht-kommerzielle Portal ist ein Angebot des Leibniz-Instituts für Wissensmedien.

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Learn more about Artificial Intelligence with this free course from Finnland.

You can although start with this nice overview from Google and the Oxford Institute
https://atozofai.withgoogle.com/intl/en-US/

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In spring 2018, MinnaLearn and the University of Helsinki came together with the aim of helping people to be empowered, not threatened, by artificial intelligence. Together, they built the Elements of AI to teach the basics of AI to people from a wide range of backgrounds.

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A free online introduction to artificial intelligence for non-experts

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Learn more about MinnaLearn's and the University of Helsinki's AI course - no programming or complicated math required.

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This is a german course create by me at the University of Pforzheim

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Pete der Projektleiter - Projektmanagement lernen

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Pete der Projektleiter, Projektmanagement lernen, Projekt Manager, kostenlos, online, mobile learning, video learning, Jan Foelsing

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The 8 Ivy League schools are among the most prestigious colleges in the world. They include Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia universities, and the University of Pennsylvania.

All eight schools place in the top fifteen of the U.S. News and World Report national university rankings.

These Ivy League schools are also highly selective and extremely hard to get into. But the good news is that all these universities now offer free online courses across multiple online course platforms.

So far, they've created over 700+ courses, of which around 500 are still active. Combined, they received at-least 40 million enrollments

Class Central has made a collection of all these, which you can explore below. I've split these courses into the following categories:

Computer Science

Data Science

Programming

Humanities

Business

Art & Design

Science

Social Sciences

Health & Medicine

Engineering

Mathematics

Education & Teaching

and Personal Development

I've also assembled these courses on Class Central's collection page for Ivy League online courses. This collection gets updated automatically as new courses are added. You can subscribe to receive updates by clicking the blue "follow" button there.

Note that some of the Coursera courses are a bit harder to access, so I wrote this guide to show you how. And if you are new to online learning, check out these 30 actionable tips to stay focused.

Computer Science Online Courses (51)

Data Science Online Courses (18)

Programming Online Courses (14)

Humanities Online Courses (91)

Business Online Courses (84)

Health & Medicine Online Courses (46)

Art & Design Online Courses(19)

Science (39)

Social Sciences Online Courses(83)

Personal Development Online Courses(13)

Engineering Online Courses (14)

Education & Teaching Online Courses (24)

Mathematics Online Courses (15)

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Here are 500+ Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free

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The 8 Ivy League schools are among the most prestigious colleges in the world. They include Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia universities, and the University of Pennsylvania. All eight schools place in the top fifteen of the U.S. News and World Report national university rankings. These Ivy

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Here's how innovative universities are using Coursera for Campus

Coursera gives us confidence that we're providing our students high-quality education that furthers their career opportunities. Without Coursera, we couldn't become 'University 4.0,' because we couldn't develop courses so quickly on our own.

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Online Learning Platform for Universities | Coursera

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Build on top of your curriculum with innovative, career-aligned courses and micro-credentials to strengthen the employment outcomes that attract students and increase enrollments.

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What is a VPN?

VPN stands for "virtual private network." It's a service that gives you safe and private access to the internet. By encrypting your connection, a VPN hides your IP and online activity from spying eyes and keeps your data safe from cybercriminals.

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Add a premium password manager to the mix: it will generate, auto-fill, and store your passwords for you. No more endless resets!

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Go all out and have your files encrypted, backed up, and always within reach in a secure cloud. Share securely, sync effortlessly, and rest easy.

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Is NordVPN the best VPN service for online privacy? Let's ask our users and tech experts.

Frequently asked questions

NordVPN is compatible with all major operating systems: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Install it on a work laptop, your kid's iPad, and your own mobile device without worry - you can connect up to six devices at the same time. If you want to go one step further, you can also set up NordVPN on Wi-Fi routers, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and other devices, extending VPN protection to the entire network.

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Online VPN service that encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP with physical location. Upgrade your privacy and security now.

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LDframe.com - Learning Strategy and Design

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LDframe.com - Learning Strategy and Design

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Develop a learning strategy and modern learning designs while using agile methods.

Almost all created templates like the Learning Design Canvas or the Learning Design Equalizer are free to download and use.

My own product. :-)
https://ldframe.com/

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LDframe - Learning Strategy & Design Sprint - short intro

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What do you need for a Podcast?

A good microphone:

Auna 900B

Blue Yeti

Rode NTSUB

Good voice recording
https://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/
https://zencastr.com/

Go-live with your Podcast and share it on iTunes, Spotify,...
https://www.podcast.co/
https://transistor.fm/
https://www.glow.fm/
https://lemonpie.fm/

All in one podcasting tool:
https://ultraschall.fm/

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Apple QuickTime Player (free software for MacOS)

Camtasia (All in one video recording and editing tool)
https://www.techsmith.com/video-editor.html

Loom (a nice online video recording tool - but the data will be stored on their servers as well...)
https://www.loom.com/
Through July 1, 2020, Loom will:

Remove the recording limit on our free plan — what was 25 is now unlimited

Cut the price of Loom Pro in half — what was $10/month is now $5/month

Extend all trials of Loom Pro from 14 to 30 days

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Microsoft Office 365 is a gigantic powerful collaboration suite.

But: more tools = more complexity = more difficult to implement and use

The new M365 tools are:

Teams
mostly for communication, data exchange, video-conferencing,...

Planner
Like Trello with kanban boards to plan tasks

OneNote
Like Evernote for note taking, collecting content from the internet via browser plugin used in teams or individually.

Sway
Creating good looking content and presentations, template-based, easily.

Delve
Personalized Information Board to see whats going on in the company.

Stream
A video platform like youtube. Find and share video-content.

Power BI
Analyze the data you are collecting in your company to make better decisions

OneDrive
Cloud data storage and sharing like Dropbox or Tresorit

Sharepoint
The basis for all the data used in the other tools

+ the tools you are already using:

PowerPoint

Word

Excel

Access

Outlook

If you are searching for a way to integrate your LMS and learning content into Office365 contact:
sascha.riexinger@imaginarity.com. They are currently working on an integration.