A small useful thing
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 09:14PM 
It's easy to take something you use everyday for granted. And GoogleApp's calendar is one of those things.
The basic calendar function works just fine. Some kind of electronic calendar has been a part of my life since God's dog was just a puppy - as a part of Outlook, on a stand-alone PDA, or even the separate application MeetingMaker. The Google calendar plays nicely with my iPod, is accessible from anywhere, reminds me when I need to be at a meeting or have a project due, and is very, very simple to use.
What I have really been finding increasing uses for, however, is the shared and multiple calendaring functions in GoogleApps. I have about a half dozen separate calendars created now - everything from my personal travel calendar of flights, hotels and car rental information to a telephone project schedule that is shared district-wide. I've built a common staff calendar for the district of important dates, a vacation calendar for the tech department, and a summer projects calendar. I love the ease with which these calendars can be shared and jointly edited/maintained.
Any under appreciated technologies in your life?
Reader Comments (3)
I've been creating and embedding Google calendars in to websites for many years. I use them for everything from construction job schedules to family events and birthdays. You can easily sync them with Outlook for a wide array of flexibility on mobile devices. Yes, I've come to take it all for granted.
Sometimes I wonder if I've made enough purchases through Google search/advertising to pay for everything Google does for me. Doubt it. :-)
In our high school, we now have a building calendar that all teachers have access to write to! We publish field trips, testing information, and school happenings that affect the classroom. (Like students getting out early for sports or other activities) This all use to be done via email and weekly newsletters...but the calendar simplifies and organizes it so much better! It amazes me how each little contribution from our users makes us more knowledgeable as a building/district! Such a powerful tool!
Our district is new to Google Apps, but I love the calendar also. I can share my always changing schedule in the LMC with my staff instantly, maintain my private calendar and share a building calendar with parents on our web page all in one place. I also like the task bar. It's so much more useful than writing to do lists that get lost. Again I can see that from anywhere and keep myself caught up. (Well, sometimes)