I want to create an electronic calendar for my school community. I plan to start small with a Google Calendar for my department. However, because we use Moodle I also wanted to see how best to integrate GCal with moodle, so I tweeted my PLN for any experience of doing the same sort of thing. Here are the replies, the most recent is at the top:
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| | davestacey @daibarnes Moved over to GCal this year. One internet, and one public. Some staff still want paper, but we're weaning them slowly! | |
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From this we can see that I am not alone in thinking this would be a good idea. However, there are two different approaches:
1. Set up GCals and embed them into Moodle to give more functionality and multiple layers which could be turned off by each individual user as required. EG we could have a calendar for each sports team in the school and you would only include the layer of the team(s) you are involved with, or indeed, for your year group.
2. Set up Moodle calendar and then get it automatically export to GCal for public access and possibly improved functionality.
3. A calendar database that probably costs a bit of cash but is run by school admin, SchoolCenter.
Question: what is the best model to run with?
Answer: not clear.
I will have to set up calendars in Moodle and GCal and try and make them talk to each other to see where functionality is lost and gained. Could easily go ahead with GCal which can be embedded but there is a need to utilise moodle features as much as possible as it is our learning platform.
What are my aims:
- The calendar co-ordinator sets it up and stops generating 1000+ A6 50 page booklets per term.
- Motivate teachers to develop their own layers that pupils can subscribe to or visit.
- Notification of changes made to existing events (email sent if you're subscribed to a particular calendar).
- Restricted access to editing calendar items so it can only be amended by it's creator or set list of admin.
- The calendar to exist in/be accessed from one place that everyone uses or is supposed to use (SIMS [with Learning Gateway installed], Moodle or website).
- Clear and simple navigation front end to access the desired calendar.
- To provide our community with fast and consistent access to events and dates.
I took the electronic calendar idea to our school ITMG (IT Management Group) to see what they thought of it. I just pitched it as a principle to gauge reaction. Reaction was positive(ish). There were some concerns about doing away with the paper calendar but I suggested a 5 year plan to phase them out - surely within 5 years parents will have to request paper copies of correspondence and admin?
Action: for me to write a paper on the pros and cons of implementing an electronic calendar and how this might be done. More work for the Christmas break.
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