Top Ten Tools: Google Calender

My second top ten tool is Google Calender. This is a relatively new tool, but already I find it is invaluable as I have access to my calender from any internet connection. This means I can make appointments regardless which computer I am using. In the past, I would have a calender that I would carry around, and if I lost the calender or ran out of time (year or semester end), I would have no way of making appointments with confidence. Now, I can access google calender and determine what days I have open and what is happening a year from now if necessary.

Google Calender for Dummies

This really is a dummy proof tool. I am not sure if you first need to have a google account, however, the calender comes up on the tool bar of gmail. Simply click on "calender". You then have the option to look at a month, week, or day view of your schedule. You click on the time you want to create an event and a menu will come up. You can also just type in the information on the calender itself (meeting with John 11:45-12:30) and the event will be created. Make sure you click on "create event" to make it permanent.

You can easily delete an item also (this was always a problem I had with outlook). Simply right click on the event and a menu will come up that includes "delete event".

Affordances

I find this useful because of its portability. I can access the calender on my computer in my classroom (if someone wants to make an appointment with me), any of my 3 computers I use in 3 different locations, and, if I had internet connection (or I should say, if I could figure out how to use it) on my cellphone, I could access the calender anytime, anywhere.

One additional use, however, just came to light last week. You can set up different calenders for different groups and then share schedules for planning purposes. Although this is a new use for me, I am thinking of having students use the calender to help keep me informed about their group activities outside of class, including creating work schedules and using the calender for task management. I also am thinking of using the calender as a form of a syllabus and informing students when there are changes in due dates. In this case the calender can be used for the affordances of collaboration, planning, and information sharing.