Google Calendar: Organization and Communication

When my posting rotation has come around for this blog, I have mostly used my turn to pitch general ideas or to share my own educational philosophies as they intersect with instructional technology. This time let me share about a tool we are using at our school that is working very well.

One of the persistently difficult things for schools to be good at is communication.  "Poor communication" is a (largely justified) criticism that is lobbed at just about every school and school system.  It seems to me that at least part of the reason for this weakness can often be traced back to organization: it is hard to speak clearly when you don't know exactly what you are saying.  It stands to reason then that tools that provide organization and clear communication would be very valuable to schools.

Two years ago, the leadership team at our school began seeking systematic ways to communicate clearly (and directly) with our community and with each other.  One of the tools we looked for was a calendar that could be published and shared publicly.  The idea was that a "living" calendar that could be updated as needed would provide a level of real-time communication far beyond what we had in place.  We started with a digital calendar that was available to us but began to discover several major issues with that option.  Early in this school year, we switched to Google Calendar.  I have wondered aloud several times why we waited so long.

Some features of Google Calendar and a couple of how-tos are listed here.  If you are looking for a great organizational and communication tool, I hope this will be useful to you.

Anyone with a gmail account can create a calendar.  In case you didn't know it, every teacher in Tuscaloosa City Schools has a gmail account.  Most have never been activated or used, but you have one.  You should know that (for reasons I do not understand) these gmail accounts limit some of the functionality in the Google suite of apps.  I have a different gmail account connected to my work calendar and documents in Google; having said that, you can also use your TCS gmail account to set up a calendar.

Create a calendar

• log into Google and click on the "calendar" link.  You should see a blank calendar that defaults to the week view.  You can adjust default settings by clicking on the gear symbol at the top right side of the page and going to "settings".  If you prefer to default to a month view, for example, this can be set here. 
• click on the arrow next to "My Calendars" on the far left side of the page. Select "Create new calendar".
• name your calendar.  Try to make the name a description of how it will be used.  For example, one of our calendars is named "RQMS Faculty/Staff Calendar" and is used for events that employees need to know about (but not parents).  You can include a description of the calendar on this page as well.
• you should make the calendar "public" by checking the box for this option.  This will allow you to share this calendar with other users.

Add events

• this is the easiest part of Google Calendar.  If you have the rights to edit a calendar (the creator does and can give that right to anyone else too), all you have to do is click on the day you want to add the event, give the a name, select the beginning and ending time and click save.
• additional details can be added to events - such as location or notes. Events can also be set to last several days (i.e. State testing), recur regularly (Faculty Meeting every first Monday), or some combination of the two.
• events can be edited any time.  If the parent meeting gets moved up 30 minutes, you can change the start time with four clicks.
• because Google Calendar is web-based, you can add, edit or remove items from the calendar from any device that has an internet connection.  Remember to add a test for two weeks from Friday at 10:30 at night?  Put the date in from home.  Find out that your department's PD day will be starting at 9:00 instead of 8:30 while you are riding in the car?  Adjust the time from your smart phone on the spot.  The best part is that these changes aren't made to one person's view of the calendar, they are pushed live to everyone who subscribes to the calendar.

Invite people to join

• there are several ways to do this.  You can enter gmail addresses for individuals but if the calendar is meant for lots of people this will be simply impractical.  You can also provide a link to everyone who is invited to use the calendar; when they click on the link, they will be guided through the process of subscribing to the calendar.
• calendars can also be linked or embedded in blogs and websites.  A link to our school calendar is posted on our website and the PTSA blog.  
• while I am not going to share instructions for doing so here, individuals can also link a calendar directly to their mobile device - so that your calendar events show up on their calendar app.  
• the best part about all of this is that changes made to the calendar are pushed out immediately.  I have watched the calendar update itself on my devices less than two minutes after I added or deleted an event in Google.

I can think of ways everyone who works in a school could use a Google calendar.  I have described our two school-wide calendars.  Departments could create calendars.  Librarians could use Google to schedule all the events in the library that they coordinate.  Counselors could schedule their guidance lessons and group sessions.  CNP could publish the menu for the month and provide live updates when things have to change.  Custodians could keep a schedule that plans for special events at the school without letting regular rounds slide.  Teachers or departments or grade levels could keep calendars to schedule shared events or to communicate planned events.  Student clubs and organizations could make their calendar available to everyone who is involved.  I am not saying that schools should have twenty or thirty calendars.  I am saying that because of how it works, Google Calendar is a powerful tool for organization and communication.  Tools like this are only as good as the folk who use them, but this does make it much easier for everyone to stay on the same page when it comes to the events that are planned in the life of a school.

Many phenomenal educators do not use a digital calendar of any kind.  For someone as forgetful as me, though, a tool this powerful results in levels of organization and clear communication far beyond what I would otherwise be able to achieve.

If you are interested in hearing more about how we are using this tool or if I can help answer specific logistical questions, please feel free to contact me.  If I can't talk to you immediately, I'll be sure to put you on my calendar!

Andrew Maxey is the principal of Rock Quarry Middle School.  He blogs at nothingthatprofound.wordpress.com and tweets from time to time as @_ezigbo_.