Laboratory for the development of technical talent

Online Tools for Remote Work

At present, there are a lot of online tools for distance and virtual work. Each of them allows collaborative work in a different way. Being aware of them can help remote groups to be more effective. Here you can find a summary of the most popular ones.

 

Select the kind of virtual tool that you are looking for

Information
Tools

 

Communication
Tools

 

Collaboration
Tools

 

 

 

Information Tools

Sharing Files

  • Dropbox - A file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc.
  • GoogleDrive - A file storage and synchronization service developed by Google.
  • OneDrive - A file hosting service and synchronization service operated by Microsoft as part of its web version of Office.
  • AmazonDrive - A cloud file storage application managed by Amazon.
  • Box - A file sharing service for businesses by Box, Inc.
  • ownCloud - An open-source file hosting service developed by ownCloud GmbH, Community.
  • NextCloud - An open-source file hosting service developed by NextCloud GmbH, Community.
  • Seafile - An open-source, cross-platform file-hosting software system by Seafile Ltd.
  • OnionShared - An open-source utility that can be used to share files of any size over the Tor network securely and anonymously.
  • Pydio Cells - An open-source file-sharing and synchronization software that runs on the user's own server created by Charles Du Jeu.

 

Content Management System

  • WordPress - A free and open-source content management system (CMS) written in PHP[4] and paired with a MySQL or MariaDB database.
  • Drupal - A free and open-source web content management framework written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License.
  • Joomla - A free and open-source content management system (CMS) for publishing web content on websites.
  • Magento - An open-source e-commerce platform written in PHP.

 

 

Communication Tools

Video-Conferencing, with breakout-rooms

  • Zoom - A videotelephony software program developed by Zoom Video Communications.
  • Google-Meet - A video-communication service developed by Google.
  • Microsoft Teams - A proprietary business communication platform developed by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft 365 family of products.

 

Video-Conferencing, with  without breakout-rooms

  • Jitsi - A collection of free and open-source multiplatform voice (VoIP), videoconferencing, and instant messaging applications.
  • Whereby - A videoconferencing service that works with no app or installs required.
  • Skype - A proprietary telecommunications application that specializes in providing video chat and voice calls.

 

Virtual Conferences

  • Zoom Webinar - A plugin for the Zoom service to carry out webinars and conferences.
  • Microsoft Teams - A proprietary business communication platform developed by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft 365 family of products.
  • Underline - An online platform for cutting-edge conference live-streaming.
  • Youtube - An American online video-sharing platform that offers live-streaming.
  • Vimeo - An American video hosting, sharing, and services platform which offers live-streaming.

 

Other Video Tools

  • Loom - A record video messages app of the screen, cam, or both.
  • OBS Studio - Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is a free and open-source cross-platform streaming and recording program built with Qt and maintained by the OBS Project.

 

Basic Chats

  • Telegram Messenger - A freeware, cross-platform cloud-based instant messaging, video calling,[15] and VoIP service.
  • WhatsApp Messenger - An American freeware, cross-platform messaging, and Voice over IP (VoIP) service owned by Facebook, Inc.

 

Advanced Chats

  • Slack - A proprietary business communication platform that offers many IRC-style features, including persistent chat rooms (channels) organized by topic, private groups, and direct messaging.  
  • Twist - A proprietary business communication platform that offers many IRC-style features, including persistent chat rooms (channels) organized by topic, private groups, and direct messaging.
  • Troop Messenger - A Team Collaboration and workplace communication platform
  • Mattermost - An open-source, self-hostable online chat service with file sharing, search, and integrations.  
  • Rocket chat - An open-source communication hub that allows total control of the team communications.

 

 

Collaboration Tools

Live Collaboration & Creation

  • Miro - A software platform that acts as an "online whiteboard", allowing remote teams to collaborate, communicate, and brainstorm visually.
  • Mural - A software platform that acts as an "online whiteboard", allowing remote teams to collaborate, communicate, and brainstorm visually.
  • Google Jamboard - An interactive whiteboard system developed by Google as part of Google Workspace.
  • GroupMap - An online brainstorming and group decision-making tool that dramatically improves the output of team brainstorming activities.

 

Real-Time Collaboration on Documents

  • 365 Microsoft Office - An online subscription service offered by Microsoft as part of the Microsoft Office product line.
  • Google Docs - A web-based productivity office suite offered by Google within its Google Drive service.
  • ownCloud Documents - A browser-based ODF-format word processor, bookmarking service, URL shortening suite, gallery, RSS feed reader, and document viewer tools.
  • NextCloud Documents - A system that integrates a free software office suite developed by Ascensio System.  
  • Overleaf - A collaborative cloud-based LaTeX editor used for writing, editing, and publishing scientific documents.

 

Task Management Platforms

  • Todoist - A cloud-based task management application.
  • Microsoft To-Do - A cloud-based task management application.
  • Any.DO - A cloud-based task management application.
  • Things - A cloud-based task management application.

 

Project Management Platforms

  • Asana - A web and mobile application designed to organize, track, and manage teamwork.  
  • Wrike - A privately held project management application service provider.
  • Basecamp - A web-based project management tool by 37signals.
  • Trello - A web-based Kanban-style list-making application that is a subsidiary of Atlassian.

 

Learning Management Systems

  • Moodle - A free and open-source learning management system (LMS) written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License.  
  • Chamilo - A free software e-learning and content management system, aimed at improving access to education and knowledge globally.  
  • Open edX - an American open-source platform for massive online courses (MOOC) created by Harvard and MIT.
  • Canvas - A free software e-learning and content management system.