SWITCHtoolbox
The SWITCHtoolbox is an easy to use collaboration platform for online working groups. All members of swiss universities can start using it right away - by joining a group or by creating their own group.
Getting started
Groups are managed on the Toolbox Portal (https://toolbox.switch.ch). This web service allows creating groups, inviting members and adding tools. In order to use it, an AAI account is required.
SWITCHtoolbox has been designed to be very easy to use. To get started and learn about the the basic usage principles go to our quick guide.
Tools - the Workhorses of the SWITCHtoolbox
Online working groups perform their collaborative tasks in tools. Each of the tools specializes on a specific task like communication, project planning, text editing, data management etc. SWITCHtoolbox has been designed to be able to easily integrate tools that are hosted at any swiss university.
When SWITCH in 2009 did interviews with people interested about the needs and requirements of SWITCHtoolbox, it was discovered that there are three tool categories which most likely will be added to almost all groups:
- mailing list
- wiki
- file storage
For each of the above categories SWITCH hosts a tool that is freely available to groups. They can be added to a group by its group administrator.
If you have experience with Shibboleth/AAI, you might want to read about the technical aspects of the SWITCHtoolbox implementation from the AAI's perspective.