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Overview of Google Calendar in schools

If you use google apps at your school the calendar is an excellent tool to help with organisation and running of school events.  It is even possible to print it out for staff who are not too comfortable with using it online.  Here is a quick overview of what to expect when you open the calendar.




1) Log into google apps

2) At the top of the screen click on the 'calendar' word between 'drive' and 'sites', this will take you to a page like the one above.  Have a go at clicking between the different views, and see which one you
like best - this won't change any of the information on the calendar - just the way you see it.



3) On the left of the screen you can choose to hide and show calendars, as well as clicking the little triangle to create a new calendar - see this guide for help with that..... This is where you can access the settings for your calendars, notifications etc.

4) Have a go at creating an event by doing one of these things - i'll be using the month view in this tutorial;

             #1 Click on the red 'create' button - this takes you to a more detailed event creation screen, i'll help you explore that in a moment.  This method is probably better for school wide events that may be shared with the community and need more detail.




             #2 Click on the date that the event will be happening on, this takes you to a quick entry, but             you can still get to the detailed editor.  This method is probably better for personal events that don't need to be that clear.  (In day, week or 4 day view mode you can create a timed event by clicking and dragging over the day and time the event is - don't forget to change the calendar if appropriate. )


If you clicked the #1 'create' button you will have a few more options open to you - choose the date, time, duration - or if the even is all day.  Change which calendar the event will appear on so that different people will see the event, and so that your calendar is clear and easy to read.

If you clicked the #2 option, on the actual date - you will have a smaller box and depending on the type of event you might need to 'edit event' to give you more options.



5) When you have created a few events you might notice that they look a bit different on the actual calendar.  Hopefully you should have a few different colours for different calendars and the times of the event should also be displayed.  A solid colour bar shows that the event is all day, and just the text should give the time at the start.

Hopefully that is enough to get most people started, i'll write about syncing with other calendars like ical and outlook, notifications and invitations as well as viewing the calendars on iphone and android over the next couple of weeks!  Just have a go at finding out what works best for you and what you find the easiest!

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