Syncing your Google Calendar with Starfish will make appointment scheduling with students simple and streamlined. Within Starfish, you’ll set up your Office Hours, and only those blocks of time will be available to students who want to set up an appointment. The Google Calendar sync allows the Appointment Scheduler to also automatically block off the times that you’re already busy, so that there’s no opportunity for a student to schedule an appointment when you already have another meeting. You and anyone you designate as your Calendar Manager will be able to view your entire Google Calendar within Starfish, but students will only see your availability -- no meeting details.
How to get started:
Step 1. In Google Calendar, under ‘My calendars’, click on the 3 vertical dots that appear next to your name
Step 2. Click on ‘Settings and Sharing’
Step 3. On the left-hand menu, click on ‘Integrate calendar’.
Step 4. Locate the ‘Secret address in iCal format’ link and copy the link by right-clicking and selecting ‘Copy’ or using the Ctrl+C keyboard shortcut.
Step 5. Log into Starfish. If you haven’t already set up your Office Hours, go through the Office Hours Setup Wizard that appears when you log in.
Step 6. Click on the hamburger menu in the upper left, click on your name and select ‘Email Notifications’.
Step 7. Check the ‘Read busy times from my external Google calendar’ box and then paste your calendar link into the box below by right-clicking and selecting ‘Paste’ or using the Ctrl+v keyboard shortcut.
Step 8. If you would like to have your Office Hours blocked off on your Google calendar, make sure that ‘change to my Office Hours/Group Sessions’ is checked. If you would like for your Office Hours to remain open on your Google calendar, unchecked that box. Keep ‘change to my appointments’ checked to make sure that all appointments created in Starfish are sent to you as Google calendar events.
Step 9. Click ‘Submit’.
Step 10. All Google calendar appointments should display within your Starfish calendar in the next 15 minutes.
Step 11. Once a student schedules an appointment with you in Starfish, you will receive a Google Calendar invite for that appointment. Accept the calendar invite to have the appointment display on your Google calendar. If you decline this invitation, the appointment will be canceled in both Starfish and Google.