**UPDATED VERSION OF THIS POST available here. The new version of this post includes updated instructions and screenshots.**
Appointment slots are a fantastic resource for schools!
Appointment slots are great for schools that want to:
- Manage resources
- Book rooms
- Automate the parent / teacher interview sign-up process
Anyone who has the link to the appointment slot calendar can view the available slots and click on them to book the meeting or resource.
TO USE APPOINTMENT SLOTS FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS:
1. Make sure you are looking at the week or day view in your Google calendar
2. Click on the time slot in the day that you want to create the appointment slot (note: don’t click the red create button)
3. On the pop-up window, click appointment slots
4. Click on edit details
5. You can then set your block of availability. Note, with appointment slots, you can then take that block and create a number of smaller appointments (see red circle below). So for example, if you had 2 hours available, you could create 4 30 minute appointment slots all at once.
6. Enter the details. Take note of the Google calendar URL (see the yellow highlighted section above) – you will need this to share with those who will be making the bookings.
7. Share the Google calendar link
8. When someone clicks that link they will be taken to your appointment slots calendar. They won’t be able to see your calendar, just the appointment slots you have created. (See below – I can see the blue box that is connected with my account because I created it)
9. When someone clicks on the appointment slot they ‘claim it’ and it is removed from the calendar and the person who created the appointment is notified.
A FEW THINGS TO BE AWARE OF:
Only people who have a Google account can make and book appointments. This can be a bit problematic for parents who don’t have a personal or Apps Google account. As a school you can create an Apps account for the parents (just create them on a sub domain to save confusion).
Make sure your calendar has notifications turned on. This way you can be informed when appointments are being made and cancelled.
You can invite others to attend your appointment. Teachers can invite other teachers to be involved in the appointment by adding their email to the add guest box (see picture under point 4)
If someone cancels an appointment it doesn’t automatically remove the event from your calendar. If you want to delete the event from your personal calendar simply click on the appointment slot event and then click delete.
