Virtual Facilitation Tools

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
1	Tool	What It Does	Cost	Pros	Cons	Options/Notes

2	2nd Display Monitor	Gives you more screen "real estate"	$200+ (around $100)	Can keep note up off screen/organize links and materials	often turning away from the screen
3	Adobe Connect	web conferencing	https://helpx.adobe.com/adobe-connect/account-usage-subscription-faq.html pay per use: $0.32 per minute (so a 60 min meeting costs $19.20) OR $50 a month	Accepted by many federal agencies; more functionality than Zoom; gives you note pads and multiple boxes, not just chat window; does on-the-fly breakouts well. Can do anonymous polls, download box for file-sharing.	Expensive, complete bandwidth hog which makes it hard to access in places where internet connectivity is low (lots of "dropped calls" even where it isn't), plus the interface is challenging for most facilitators.	NASA uses it with the integrated audio for large-scale live events. For smaller events (100 people or less) we prefer to use it with a teleconference line. Helps with the bandwidth and audio stability for folks who maybe can't get online.
4	Adobe Draw App on iPadPro	Drawing app	Fresco is free as part of CC subscription, otherwise $9.99 a month	Seamless with Adobe Illustrator	limited brushes, might be ios only, not sure	Now FRESCO	Fresco works with Microsoft but doesn't export animation
5	Affinity
6	Altspace VR	web conferencing; VR group meetings	Free program, but $2k for hardware	Non-VR users can join meeting from desktop	Few facilitation tools besides speaking
7	Asana	Project management tool	$0 Basic, Premium $11/mo, Business, $25	great for small teams, mobile app available	there is a cost
8	Autodesk Sketchbook	Graphic recording	$10/mo		Typing isn't easy
9	Awwapp	Whiteboarding
10	Ayoa	Mindmapping software. UK based
11	Bamboo Tablet (wacom)	Graphic recording	$50 - $200
12	Basecamp	file-sharing; Remote teams: document storage, workflows		highly intuitive and visual
13	BeeCanvas	Whiteboarding
14	Beekast
15	Blue jeans	web conferencing; Verizon's webmeeting platform		Very secure	Not intended for casual users
16	BlueScape	Sticky notes, drop in images				via Malgosia Kostecka. fedramp and have IL2 and IL4 implementations
17	BoardThing	Virtual sticky notes, clustering, dot voting	First 30 are free, $84 a year after that		May get some expired security notices. Unstable. Now phased out	Retiring in spring of 2020
18	Box.net	cloud-based storage; Like Dropbox, etc.	Freemium
19	Camtasia	Video editing and screencast tool useful to make tutorials and announcements. Add transition, highlights, titles to videos
20	Canva	infographics tool	Freemium
21	Cintiq graphic tablet (wacom)	Graphic recording	$800 - $2400	Best tool for digitial drawing	Super-expensive
22	Classic Whiteboard	Whiteboarding
23	Conceptboard	Whiteboarding
24	Concepts App
25	Covision	large & small group discussions, polls, Q&A	$$$$	high-touch tech support & consulting	$$$$$$	good tool - good people
26	Deekit	Whiteboarding
27	Deekit	Whiteboarding
28	Digital Online Whiteboard App	Whiteboarding
29	Doodle.com	Scheduling same time meetings	Free and Paid	Works with different time zones - a real plus
30	Draw.Chat	Whiteboarding
31	Dropbox Paper	notetaking; It's like Google Docs where you can take notes in real time	Free	Stays in dropbox	But, you can't put it in dropbox file folders, which is annoying	Try Box.net - it has nesting folders
32	Evernote	file-share and collaboration (cloud-based)	$50 annual license	Strongest of the cloud tools (IMHO) - beats OneNote, Google apps, Dropbox, hands-down. Decent drawing tools; fantastic for organizing ideas and resources		has changed how I work
33	ExplainEverything.com	whiteboard platform (cloud-based)	$13/mo solow, $12/per user for teams			Competing w/Mural?
34	FaceTime	web conferencing; video messaging	phone bill	many people have iPhones	not everyone has an iPhone
35	Fastly	Web interface, Creates location-based tagging		Min $50/mo
36	Filer	Like Google Docs, but works for state of California
37	FlockDraw	Whiteboarding
38	Free conference call	web conferencing; phone and I think now video	FREE	Includes video, a lot like Zoom
39	Gitilab	version control; repository for files & drafts
40	GlobalMeet (was ReadyTalk)	web conferencing	$12/month per named user	Web-based unless you want to share screen	Annoying voice prompts, no polling, no individual chat, no breakout groups, can't send attachments
41	Google Chat	Chat
42	Google Docs	Text documents	Free	Widespread adoption: people know how to use it	Participants can "trip" over each other	Create light constraints for first use until the group senses how to manage together.
43	Google Hangout	group chat, document sharing, asynch interaction; like Slack or Teams, connects to Google meet
44	Google Meet	web conferencing; Video conference, part of google Hangout		Super easy to record and share the recording after (a shareable link appears in your drive); closed captioning works well for people struggling to hear or who might be following along in a second or third language
45	Google Sheets	Spreadsheets	Free		Participants can "trip" over each other
46	Google Sites	One stop spot for all of your G Suite collaborative tools	Free	Super easy to embed Google Docs, Drive Folders, Calendar, Forms, Slides, YouTube, Photos, other webpages & can share exclusively to members of Google Group	Doesn't have site level permissions like classic sites	Great for housing all of your Team/ Project files
47	Google Slides	presentation software	Free		Participants can "trip" over each other	Far less participant "tripping" than in docs; possible to zoom out and use the negative space around the slide in ways the mimic mural but might be more comfortable to participants who are already used to working in slides (e.g. instead of double clicking to create a sticky note, just tell participants to create a text box)
48	Google Suites	Additional functionality for Google Docs and Sheets: assign tasks
49	GoToMeeting	web conferencing		Doesn't require downloading / can use browser for those with firewall issues	I don't like it. Haha \| It's relatively expensive and takes up more bandwidth than competitors like Zoom. It's also less intuitive to use as a facilitator and has less features than Zoom \| I don't know if there is a breakout feature now - there wasn't fairly recently but I haven't checked lately. (no, no breakout)
50	GoWall	collaborative, sortable sticky notes (cloud-based)
51	Group Text
52	Group texting	backchannel	free		alerts can be distracting
53	GroupBoard	Whiteboarding
54	GroupMap.com	Digital workshop facilitation tool using customisable templates and process.	Free-14 days, then plans from $20/ to $100 a mnth	Customisable meeting templates and flexibile brainstorming and facilitator control options. Can also add in survey/polls to the activity. Visual templates that are organized so more organized than an online whiteboard.	Requires a VC tool to augment your meeting - have to copy your link to those platforms.
55	Grove Strategic Visioning templates	Visual templates	$400 for one user	GREAT facilitation tools both virtually and in the room. Help channel ideas and contain conversations	Build in PowerPoint: can be knacky to use text boxes	Then photo your low-tech work and share it w/ remote participants (J Lesko) The real value of these is not the image/slide template but the facilitator guide--A Baum
56	https://about.gitlab.com/company/culture/all-remote/collaboration-and-whiteboarding/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=allremote#mural--the-new-design-whiteboard	Whiteboarding
57	https://jitsi.org/	web conferencing; conference calls; encrypted, open source, FREE alternative to Zoom.	free
58	https://krisp.ai/
59	https://online-collaboration-tools.zeef.com/robin.good	A library of Online Collaboration tools, web apps and services for online collaboration. 600+ tools hand-picked and organized in 40+ categories.
60	https://www.notion.so/Screen-Making-WFH-Work-57df16351a884bca8027f049698eb2ce
61	iMindmap	Mindmapping tool
62	Invision App	Prototyping in a shared platform	?	Mutliple users can build something together	Might be a steep learning curve for those not used to UX tools	Can be used in conjunction with a video conferencing tool like Zoom to create a co-creative workshop experience
63	InVision Freehand	whiteboard; Like Whiteboard. No summon feature, limitless whitespace, no navigation	Freemium
64	iPad Pro		$650 - $1300	You can use it like the much more expensive Cintiq to record graphically in real time and share it via Zoom - with or withour a cable (can be shared by AirPlay also)		AirPlay is now called Screen Mirroring
65	Jamboard (App)	whiteboard space with G Suite app integration	Free, but if you want the physical Jamboard itself cost is 5k+. 6/mo or 12/mo or 25/mo <- what's this for? can be opened for free in Google Suite	iOS, Android & Web 20 Jam breakout spaces for each Jam, connects to Drive & Meet I like the grid or dot backgrounds	Little janky, lots more developement to go, the Jamboard itself is very expensive. The Clear Frame button deletes everything and is way too easy to click. Can't change canvas size. No add-ons. Very different for PCs vs Touchscreens
66	Join.me	web conferencing	Free version, $20/mo for up to 50 participants		Dodgy connectivity
67	Judo
68	Kahoot	polling tool, survey/trivia platform
69	Kaizena	Allows audio feedback embedded in Google Docs
70	Kajabi/thinkific for hosting videos and worksheets
71	Klaxoon	Popular in Europe. Vote, Brainstorm, Survey...	Klaxoon is software-as-a-service that's licensed on a subscription basis at prices ranging from $10 to $19	https://siliconangle.com/2017/08/11/klaxoon-uses-gamification-make-meetings-fun-well-almost/
72	L&D
73	Limnu	Whiteboarding
74	LucidCharts
75	Many Cam	Screensharing across multiple apps: e.g., share your ipad instead your webcam on Zoom
76	Marco Polo	Records short videos and sends to groups; effective for using when looking to share personally with your co-workers (not the Slack, or primary communication but your personal share alternative without the comparison challenges of things like facebook)	Free	Pre-set groups or one-to-one	Mobile app only	https://www.marcopolo.me/
77	MeetingSift	polling tool; smartphone polling magic	Free version; $1200 annual license	Easy to set up and run; great real-time word clouds (wow factor); very stable and easy from user side, too	only get reports on paid version	After trying all the mobile-polling platforms, this is my favorite for ease of use (for everyone) and robust features
78	Meetingsphere	brainstorming	$1000 annually	expensive	not as good as Powernoodle Doesn't have comprehensive instructions you can get to in one place (i.e. download the doc & search it)	Like the anytime mode where participants can go out on their own to either share individual responses or collaborate.
79	Menti	polling tool; Bring-your-own-device polling	Free	Integrates into PowerPoint
80	Microsoft Surface	Graphic recording	$800 - $2700
81	Microsoft Teams MS Teams	group chat, document sharing, asynch interaction; works on microsoft platform, replaces skype for most	comes with Office	- if the organization is already using is the plataform that everybody knows and can use. - it can conect with miro and mural (depends of the Admin).	not many people have it, must have app to use video. Join by web - No gallery view: view one speaker at a time - Show participants OR chat. (conversation) - If you use another webconference platform, it'll conflict for use of webcam/microphone audio and won't connect - No participant id when dialing in by phone: will show up as two participants - No virtual backgrounds - can't privately chat - If someone doesn't have chat open, they won't see it. - Can't (didn't) mute all? background noise!	https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/manage-whiteboard https://myteamsday.com/2020/04/17/breakoutrooms-in-teams/ (How to create and manage Breakout Rooms in Teams meetings)
82	Mindjet MindManager	mind-mapping	annual license: $150	robust, easy to use	not great for realtime collaboration
83	Miro	whiteboard tool, similar to Mural	$8 per month for cheapest	Good for intact teams and working groups	Not great for first time users: heavy log in. Product team is Russia-based.
84	Mural.co	Brainstorm Co-design, collaborative sticky wall	$12/month/member (for up to 50)	Anonymous participants, no need to create accounts
85	NearPod	For classroom teaching, k-12	Free for "teachers"
86	Notes in Box	Like google doc	?		people don't use it
87	Notion
88	Nureva					https://www.nureva.com/visual-collaboration/resource-library?utm_campaign=01064%20Visual%20collaboration&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Wzp8g69UZS9ggp4eZasqECGxZasfJa9bpPlqjuelvBzHizZtKA23UerR-0BBr5o1hmLc7oW9QFzcXj_LwZ-OuDpcOgw&_hsmi=83614133&utm_source=hs_email&utm_content=83614133&hsCtaTracking=f38d8a66-d238-41ed-903a-d3c095c2083b%7C3fbbda0d-77a0-4cde-96ba-cb6e6d779a23
89	OneNote	notetaking app for Microsoft. Allows for drawing		Can be combined with MS Teams
90	Onthesamepage.online	Whiteboarding
91	Padlet	whiteboarding tool like MURAL, intended for schools	Freemium. 3 for free. 12$/mo for businesses or $99/yr (security, user mgmt, branding, org-wide monitoring)	Pre-fab layouts. can share and upload links,, files, photos, google searches, videos	Snapping to layout makes clustering difficult	creator and contributors can post videos, photos, etc.
92	Parabol
93	PearDeck	A combination of Google Slides and MURAL, intended for teachers
94	Photoshop	Graphic recording	$50/mo along with Adobe Creative Cloud
95	Pictochart	infographics tool	$40/year			https://piktochart.com/
96	Pinup	whiteboard; Like Mural	Free		Be careful about googling "pinup"
97	Poll Everywhere	polling tool; Quanitative and Qualitative Polls	Free (25 respondants max) to $84/month	lets preople intereact with their phones; integrated with Powerpoint	People can get distracted once they pull out their phones
98	PowerNoodle	brainstorming	MAFN is working on a negotiated price for facilitators - WONDERFUL!		very expensive	I was one of the people negotiating with them - they came up with a reduced price - but Stormz does most (all?) the same stuff for about 2% of the price.
99	PowerPoint	Visual templates, graphic recording	$8.25/mo with Office 3.65	Latest version with "draw" is WAY better	Stigma, temptation to "chalk and talk"
100	Prezi	Presentation software	Free and Paid ($19/month)	exciting, versatile way to communicate and showcase projects, processes, etc.