Share, Sync and Schedule

This week as promised I am going to cover: how to share your Google Calendar, how to sync your Google Calendar, and how to use your Google Calendar for setting up office hour appointments with students.  Here are the three different ways I think that you may want to share your Google Calendar.

Share your Google Calendar with specific users, like a colleague or a family member:

1. In the calendar list on the left side of the page, click the down-arrow button next to a calendar, then select Share this calendar. (Alternatively, click the Settings link at the bottom of the calendar list, then select a calendar and click the Share this calendar link.)
2. Enter the email address of the person you want to share your calendar with.
3. From the drop-down menu, select a level of permission, then click Add. (Once you click Add, the person you selected to share the calendar with will receive an email invitation to view your calendar.)

You can currently share your calendar with up to 75 users per day. If you’d like to share your calendar with more users, please wait 24 hours before trying again.

Share your calendar with folks who don’t use Google Calendar:

You can share your calendar with friends who don’t currently use Google Calendar by using your calendar’s address in HTML format. Just follow these steps:

1. In the calendar list on the left, click the down-arrow next to a calendar and select Calendar settings. (Alternatively, click Settings at the bottom of the calendar list, then click the name of the appropriate calendar.)
2. In the Calendar Address section, click the HTML icon. You’ll see a pop-up window with your calendar’s URL.
3. Share this URL with your friends who don’t use Google Calendar.

To share your calendar with everybody (i.e. anyone who has access to the internet):

1. In the calendar list on the left, click on the down-arrow button next to the appropriate calendar, then select Share this calendar.
2. Select Make this calendar public.
3. If you don’t want others to view the details of your events, select See only free/busy (hide details).
4. Click Save.

Keep in mind that making your calendar public will make all of your events visible to the world, including via Google search.  For more information on public calendar options and how others can view your calendar, please visit Make your calendar public.

Syncing your Google Calendar with your cellular phone:

Now here is when things get a bit tricky, you will need to pick a link for the type of cellular telephone that you have – an Android,  iPhone, or BlackBerry. If you’re not sure what type of phone, or have an issue with doing this, please stop by the CET office and I will be more than happy to help you.

 Using Google Calendars for scheduling office hours:

The last, but what I think may be one of the most important things that you can do with Google Calendar, is the appointments option. I first read about it on ProfHacker in his Scheduling 101: Appointment Slots in Google Calendar post.  In this post he goes through all the features of using the appointment slots with your students.  If you’re wary of using this feature with your students this Fall, I suggest you give it a read through. But for a quick description on how time slots work I give you this vignette: Student Bobby needs to meet with you during your office hours. However, it is 10:00 pm and he can’t stop by your office and sign up for a time slot, so he emails you.  You email him back the next day and give him three appointment options. Now he emails you back telling you the one that works for him and you email back confirming and you enter the appointment on your calendar.  Conversely, had you used Google Calendar’s time slot Bobby would look at your Google Calendar, see your open office hours, and click and to make an appointment.

Google did a great job on providing the how-to steps, so please click here to read them over. If you’re like me and you like video tutorials, I would check out this screen cast. You’ll have to scroll down through the article two paragraphs or so to see it.

And like I mentioned before, if you need assistance with setting this up, I’d be more than happy to meet with you.