Instructor: Calendar

You can access the Calendar tool in two ways.

  1. From the course home page, click the down arrow next to the Calendar widget title and select “Go to Calendar.”D2L home page of a course showing the Calendar widget with the actions menu open to select Go to Calendar
  2. Click Course Admin on the Navbar and then select Calendar from the list of tools.

 

1. Modify: Personalizing the Calendar

Change the look and settings of the calendar to reflect your needs.

  1. Change the calendar view options.

    1. Choose Day, Week or Month to display events based on those timeframes.

    2. Choose List to see a comprehensive list of events for the course in chronological order.

    3. Choose Agenda to see more information about upcoming events with direct links to the corresponding course event, such as a Quiz or an Assignment.
       Screenshot that shows all the viewing options. agenda, day, week, month, list
       
  2. Select a specific date to view (relative to the timeframe you’ve chosen) using the left and right arrows next to the date at the top of the calendar view.
     screenshot showing the buttons in the upper left corner of the calendar to move by date range (weeks, months, etc.)
     
  3. Select the course calendar to view using the dropdown Actions menu next to the course name.
     Using the actions menu to choose a specific course calendar
  4. Use the calendar to further refine the way information is displayed in your calendar.Shows spot to click on Settings in the Calendar Tool

     

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2. Add: Calendar Event

Create a calendar event and display it on the calendar.

NOTE: Notifications for events created using this method do not send email or SMS notifications.  Students are only notified of these types of events through the Pulse mobile app.  These events do show up on all Calendar views in a D2L course.

  1. Click the button at the top of the course calendar.
     Clicking the Create Event button to start the process
     
  2. At a minimum you must enter an Event title and the date and time (When) of the event.  If the event is for all day (no time needed) click in the box to the left of All day.
     

You have many options you can use to make the entries on your Calendar more useful to students.>

 

  1. You can directly link to Content modules or topics by clicking on the Add Content button.  Select the module or topic from the list that pops up.  You can even customize the name of the content object after adding it.
     Clicking the add content button on the calendar page and then displaying the list of Content modules or topics available to select from
     
  2. Choose who will see the Event (if not the entire class) by clicking the box under Attendees and selecting a section or group from the list.
     Click the drop down menu headed by Everybody in the course offering to select a section or group that should see the event
     
  3. Use the Add Recurrence button for calendar events that have multiple dates.
     Click the Add Recurrence button to create multiple dates for an event on the calendar
     
  4. Click the Create button to add the event(s) to your course calendar.
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3. Edit: Calendar Event

Change a calendar event after it has been created to more accurately reflect the event.

  1. Find the event on the calendar.
  2. Click on the event listing and select Edit from the pop-up window.
     Click an event on the calendar to display a popup window. In that window click edit to make changes to the event.
     

  3. Make any changes just as you would when creating the event and then Click Save at the bottom of the screen when you are finished making the changes.

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4. Delete a Calendar Event

Remove a calendar event entirely from the course calendar.

  1. Find the event on the Calendar.
  2. Click on the event.
  3. Click Delete in the pop-up window.
     Click an event on the calendar to display a popup window. In that window click delete to delete the event.

     

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5. Subscribe: Calendars in Outlook, Google, and iOS

Subscribe to a D2L calendar using your personal calendaring program such as Outlook, Google Calendar, or iPhone Calendar.

NOTE:  Calendar subscriptions will not update instantly when a change is made to the D2L calendar.  See below for details for some of the major calendaring systems.

  1. Open the Calendar in your D2L course.

  2. Select the Settings Link.

     

    Click the settings link with the small blue gear in the upper right corner of the screen.

     

  3. Ensure the box to the left of Enable Calendar Feeds is checked

     

    Click the box to the left of Enable Calendar Feeds

     

  4. Click the Subscribe link.

     

    Click on the subscribe link in the upper left of the screen.

     

  5. A window will open with the link to ALL your D2L calendars by default.
     

    screen shot of window with the link to the calendar. Copy this.



    If you only want the calendar from one course, select it from the list.

     

    Select just one calendar by click on the box labeld All Calendars and Tasks

  6. Now go back to your personal calendaring system and find the option to add a calendar by URL or subscription.  This will vary by application.

    1. In Outlook: Go to the Calendar, select Add Calendar, Subscribe from the web.  Paste the URL from above in the appropriate line.

    2. On a Mac:  This web page> will guide you through the steps of subscribing to a calendar.

    3. In Google Calendar: Click the Plus sign to the right of Other Calendars.  Choose Subscribe to Calendar from the popup list.  Click From URL in the list on the left side of the page and then paste the URL copied above in the appropriate spot. Click Add Calendar to finish.

Warning sign Calendar Sync Timing

MS Outlook:  Your Outlook calendar will generally sync any dates created in the course D2L calendar within 24 hours.  While you may get faster sync times than this, you should never plan on it.

Google Calendar:  Testing has shown that the Google calendar syncing is erratic when left to its own schedule.  It can take anywhere from hours to days to sync the calendars.

If you are willing to work with a Google script, Derek Antrican has created this one that will allow you to set a schedule to run a quick check of the calendars and pull in any new events from your D2L calendar each time it runs.  This is a sure fire way to keep your Google calendar up to date.  You follow the embedded instructions to edit a few lines of the script, run it once, and it will work away in the background with no further intervention.

Apple Calendars: In the Calendar app on your Mac, Control-click the calendar’s name, then choose Get Info.  Click the Auto-refresh pop-up menu, then choose an option.

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