Digital Toolbox
Digital Tools for Research Groups
ZiF offers support for digital collaboration in cooperation with the Bielefeld IT Service Center (BITS). To help research groups collaborate efficiently, we recommend using a small set of digital tools for communication, shared documents and project coordination.
Using a limited number of tools helps keep collaboration simple and transparent for all group members.
Create a permanent Zoom meeting room for regular group meetings and spontaneous discussions.
Set up Zoom Team Chat channels for quick communication and coordination within the group.
Use the shared Sciebo folder to exchange and store documents.
(Optional) Create a Trello board if your group would like to organize tasks or workshop planning.
Zoom
- Access
Zoom is generally available free of charge and can therefore be used by all members of the group. However, some functions (such as meetings longer than 40 minutes) require a Zoom Pro account. If your university does not provide a Pro account, ZiF can arrange temporary Zoom Pro access for the duration of your stay.
- Team Communication: Chat
Zoom also provides a Team Chat function that can be used independently of video meetings.
It can be useful for:
- quick coordination within the group
- sharing links, files and information
- organizing meetings or workshops
- continuing discussions between meetings
Channels can be created for different topics, for example:
- general group communication
- workshop planning
- research discussions
- practical information and recommendations
Using Team Chat can significantly reduce internal email communication, as messages remain searchable and accessible to all group members.
- Video Meetings and Communication
We recommend using Zoom for online meetings and ongoing communication within the research group.
Video meetings
Zoom can be used for:
- regular research group meetings
- hybrid workshops or seminars
- spontaneous discussions between group members
Useful features include:
- screen sharing
- chat during meetings
- whiteboard functionality
It is often helpful to create one permanent meeting room for the research group. This allows any member of the group to start a meeting at any time without scheduling a new session.
- Planning and Collaborative Work: Whiteboard
The Whiteboard feature in Zoom Workplace can support collaborative work and planning activities. It can be used with or without a video meeting.
Possible use cases include:
- brainstorming research ideas
- planning workshops or events
- structuring collaborative writing processes
- visualizing project workflows
Zoom provides a range of templates that may be useful for research groups, including:
- Kanban boards for organizing tasks
- Start-Stop-Continue retrospectives for reflecting on group work
- brainstorming and research planning templates
- Further Collaborative Tools
Zoom also includes several further features that support collaborative work within the platform:
- Zoom Docs for shared notes and collaborative documents
- Zoom Clips for short asynchronous video messages or explanations
- AI Companion features that can generate meeting summaries or highlight key discussion points
These tools can help research groups document discussions, organize ideas and follow up on meetings more efficiently.
Trello
- Project Planning
Some research groups find it helpful to use a project management tool to coordinate tasks or organize workshops.
Trello is a simple and flexible collaboration tool that allows groups to organize tasks and workflows on shared boards.
Typical uses include:
- planning workshops or conferences
- tracking tasks and responsibilities
- coordinating collaborative projects
If your group would like to use Trello, ZiF can set up a board for you on request. Please note that setting up the board may require some lead time.
Further information about Trello can be found here.
