Back to Blackboard Tools

Course Calendar

What it is.

The Course Calendar feature allows an instructor to create a custom calendar of important course related events and dates which is available to all the the members of a course. Suggested items include: section meetings, assignments due dates, exams, and dates for guest speakers.

Implications for Teaching and Learning.

Beyond a listing of dates, times, and events, the Course Calendar can be used by an instructor as a way to norm students to function in the online world, provide feedback/encouragement, promote student success, and as yet another vehicle to project your unique voice and personality into a course.

Instructors in traditional classrooms frequently can anticipate the ebb and flow of the classroom dynamics through a semester for each of their courses, and respond accordingly. A complementary situation occurs in the virtual classroom. For example, early on in a course or say, in undergraduate courses, students may need prompting or reminding as they being to learn to schedule/manage their time to complete assignments and prepare for tests. The course calendar can be used as a tool to model good task-management by posting reminders early in a course for project milestones: "Your paper is due in two weeks. Recommended prep accomplished: rough draft completed, initial bibliography written." Or "Test in Two Weeks -- Start Chp 4-6 Review Now."

The calendar is a great communication tool for pushing information out to your students, however it is just as easily overlooked by them. One way you can ensure that your students get the most out of all the work you put into building a calendar for them is to let them know it is there. This may seem an obvious step, but with the rush of all that is expected of students and faculty, the obvious is what is oft trampled first. You may wish to use the Announcements page to post a simple message letting student know that the calendar is active, what will be posted, and even a suggestion or two of how they can use it to their advantage.

Setting it Up.

1. From the Control Panel -- Click on the Course Calendar link under the Course Tools section. 

 2. Note the tabs that allow you to chose the view you wish to work from: Day, Month, or Year.  To add an event, click on the Add Event button.

3. Type in the Event Title in the text field.

4. Type the Event Description in the text field.

5. Choose the Due Date. 

6. Choose the Event Start Time from the pull-down list.

7. Choose the Event End Time from the pull-down list.

8. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.

Modifying or Deleting an Event - Viewing Events.

• How can I modify or delete a Calendar Event?
  • Find the event you want to modify, and click either the Modify button or the Remove button, depending on which function you wish to perform.
• How can I see more events at a time?
  • Use the tabs across the top of the Course Calendar page to see more events. Click on View Week, View Month, or View Year tab. The dates that have calendar events will be highlighted.

Links for More Ideas. Note: This may take you to another section in this set of resources or to other TWU resources. 

How can the Course Calendar be used to enchance teaching and learning? These links will take you to the Promising Practices section and information on more ways to maximize the usefulness of this tool in your course.

See Using the Course Calendar

See Adding a Link to the Course Calendar

See Using a Regular Cycle of Reminders

Back to Blackboard Tools