Google Calendar Appointment Schedule Integration with Blackboard

Using Google Calendar, you can allow students to schedule an appointment with you directly in Blackboard and have it show up on your calendar.

Question

How do I create an Appointment Schedule in Google Calendar and integrate it with my course in Blackboard?

 

Environment

• Google Workspace
• Blackboard

 

Answer

Step 1: Calendar Setup

1. Open Google Calendar. 
2. At the top left, click Create +.
3. Click Appointment schedule. 
   • If you do not see this option it means this feature has not be turned on. To turn on, click the in the upper-right > under General, click Appointment schedules, Create appointment schedules instead of appointment slots.
4. Add a title.  Example, Office Hours.  
5. Choose an Appointment duration. 
6. Under General availability, choose how often to repeat, and set your schedule of availability. 
7. Under the Scheduling window, choose a start and end date for your appointments. 
8. Under Adjusted availability, choose specific days you are unavailable during your scheduling window. 
9. Under Booked appointment settings, choose to add a buffer time and maximum bookings per day. 
10. Optional: Add Co-hosts if you have multiple instructors. 
11. Click Next. 
12. Under Location and conferencing, choose how and where to meet. 
13. Optional: Add a description. 
14. Under Booking form, provide the information you would like students to include when scheduling. 
15. Choose Require email verification if you want students to sign-in to their GRCC student email account. 
16. Under Booking confirmation and reminders,  Email reminder if you wish to send a reminder to attendees. 
17. Click Save.
18. On the booking appointment window, click Share. 
19. On the Share your booking page, click Website embed. 
20. Choose how you would like your office hours calendar to be displayed in your course.
    • Button with popup 
    • Inline booking page
21. Click the Copy code button underneath your chosen display. 
22. Click Done. 

 

Step 2: Add to Blackboard Course

1. With the code copied, launch Blackboard and navigate to your course. 
   1. If you do not have the code selected open Google Calendar > click on any appointment schedule on your calendar > click Share > click Website embed > choose desired display and click Copy Code. 
2. On the left side in the course menu, click the plus icon at the top of the menu and choose Content Area. 
3. Enter a name. Example, Schedule an Appointment, Office Hours. 
4.  Available to users and click Submit. 
5. From the course menu, click the page you just created. 
6. At the top of the new content page, click Build Content, and choose Item. 
7. Enter a Name. Example, Schedule an Appointment, Office Hours. 
8. In the Text box, locate the toolbar at the top.  Click the  Source Code button. 
9. Paste in the code from Google Calendar. 
10. Click Save. 
11. Click and drag the calendar display in the text box to the desired view. 
12. Click Submit. 
13. To get a full preview of the display, click the Student Preview button in the upper right corner, then click the content page where your calendar is located. 

Watch this video below for a demonstration of the process.