Blackboard Calendar Basics

Seriously, I can barely tell the difference, but then again, I'm new

At SU, we are all considered to be pretty lucky.  We have world class professors, a campus that looks a tad like Rivendell (home of the house of Elrond and the High-Elves of Middle-Earth in Lord of the Rings for you non-nerds out there), plenty of delicious food in the cafeteria, and an Institutional Computing department that pulls out all the stops when it comes to the success of this university's students.

In order for you to become a hyper-successful student at SU, you are going to need to do a bunch of stuff. Most of that stuff, the IC department cannot help you with, but when it comes to interfacing with the university through technology, that is where we come in.  One of our most important tasks is making the ins-and-outs of Blackboard easy to understand and accessible for all of you.

Today we will take a look at one of the more important features for your success: the Blackboard calendar. 

The Blackboard calendar will most likely become an integral part of your day-to-day academics.  Luckily, it is a high quality tool that is pretty easy to use and navigate effectively.  

Some of the most handy features about the Blackboard Calendar are as follows:

As your professor makes changes, your calendar will change. That's right; when your professor changes an assignment, due date, or adds and removes events so will your course's calendar reflect that information.  The calendar will populate in this way automatically for any courses you are enrolled in.

Hiding unwanted calendars is a breeze.  Too much visual clutter in your Blackboard calendar?  I can sympathize with you.  At any given time, it seems like I have eight calendars overlapping making sure that I know that I have way more to accomplish in a day than there are hours.  But no matter, I will simply hide a calendar or two that are not too important to reduce the visual clutter.

(For some of the more simple features, if I do not include written step-by-step instructions, check the links provided in the text, and it will direct you to an online photo, photo album, or video with relevant information that should show you exactly how to do what I am writing about. Go ahead, check it out!)

Adding events to your Blackboard calendar is quick and painless. To add an event, all you need to do is click on the calendar itself where you would like the event to be scheduled.  A window will appear that wants a little more detail about the event. Fill out the information, and presto-chango, you have yourself a completely detailed event.

Exporting your Blackboard calendar is easier than getting knocked out by Mike Tyson in his prime. Also, it is easier than crashing your car while texting. Seriously, don't text and drive. To export your calendar you want to go to your Blackboard calendar and hit the "Get External Calendar Link" button at the bottom left portion of your Blackboard calendar page.

• Once you have the External Calendar Link paste that information into your Browser's URL bar
• You will then be prompted to download the calendar.  Download it and then place it on your desktop
• Go to your Google calendar, find the "other calendars" drop down menu in the bottom left corner of the calendar, and hit the "import calendar" button.
• Hit the upload button and you're done!