BP7_2009102_Web2.0 Evaluation_Google Calendars

Although I would not declare a calendar to be the most useful of all web-based tools for classroom use, it can serve some valuable purposes. For an instructor communicating to students and parents, the calendar can provide all information related to classroom activities. Events are attached to particular dates, with details being linked to the event tile. The calendar can be set for viewing by selected users only (students and parents). Separate calendars can be created for each course or even for each class section, preventing the issue of calendars becoming cluttered with too much inapplicable information.

Teachers can also create separate calendars to share with colleagues and/or administrators. This certainly would prove more useful for teachers with more activities beyond the classroom walls, such as band and chorus leaders, or those sponsoring community service organizations. Department heads or team leaders could also benefit from such a calendar to keep colleagues informed about staff development opportunities, meetings, or other events of interest to all.


Administrators should be grateful to see such a tool come along. How many schools have a "master calendar" that covers an entire wall, enabling administrators to coordinate supervision, transportation, and support? A master calendar that resides online would handle all that information, be viewable to all from remote locations, and even be "programmed" to send notifications prior to events.


A similar function that is mostly not classroom related but certainly important in an educational setting would be for an athletic directors master calendar. Individual head coaches would be responsible for updating changes in their schedules on a master calendar maintained by the athletic director. Making such a calendar available to instructors could prove useful as well, particularly if a particular course or section is populated by a large number of athletes or band members that may be on the same schedule. An instructor could make practical use of athletic schedules to get the best work from their students.

My position as a math teacher in my high school would make the classroom calendar the most useful application for me. I would also like to introduce this concept to my administrators to "test run" as an alternative means for keeping a master calendar.