Setting up a course calendar

Knowledge now provides a simple course calendar that is easy for both students and faculty to use. This calendar can not only be viewed inside Knowledge, but it can also be viewed on mobile devices (such as iPhones) and in other 3rd party calendaring systems such as Google Calendar.

To view the calendar inside Knowledge, click your name in the upper right corner of the screen then click the calendar icon –

– or select TOOLS from a course menu, then select CALENDAR on the tools page.

The calendar itself lists events set up for all available courses which you are enrolled in (this is true for both faculty and students). On the left side of the Calendar page you’ll see a list of color coded calendars. To stop seeing events from a calendar, uncheck the box next to its name. To add an event to the calendar, click the + button in the upper right corner of the page.

To add an event, simply complete the form that appears in an overlay window. Enter the name of the event (e.g. “Course evaluations due”), on the CALENDAR line, select the course you want to add the event to (note: if you access the calendar by entering a course, then selecting TOOLS/CALENDAR, that course’s calendar will be selected by default), then enter the date / time range for the event either by editing the default data manually or by using the selectors that appear when you click into the Starts and Ends boxes. You may also enter a description for the event if you choose.

Automatically added events

What makes the calendar most useful, however, is that many date-related events added through the course site are automatically added to the calendar as well. Bb Collaborate sessions, Assignment and Grade Center due dates, and windows of availability for tests, quizzes, and surveys all automatically add to a course’s calendar. As a result, IDS now recommends adding due dates and descriptions to Assignments and new Grade Center columns.