Resource Center

Office Hour Signup Tools

Below are suggested replacements for the office hour signup tool previously available through Harvard iSites.

Canvas

  1. Course instructors can use the Calendar Scheduler tool within Canvas to enable online office hour signups for students enrolled in that course.
  2. Once a schedule is set up and shared, anyone in the course enrollment listing (enrollees, TFs, TAs, other instructors, guests, support staff, etc.) will be able to access and read the office hours schedule. Only accounts with admin rights can modify the “shared” schedule. Ownership will always be associated with the account that created the schedule. TAs of the course(s) will be able to modify the schedule after it has been created by the instructor.
  3. Anyone NOT officially enrolled in the course WILL NOT be able to access or see the office hour signup tool.
  4. Instructors are able to share their office hours between multiple courses within Harvard’s residential Canvas instance.
    Example: Professor A teaches “Intro to Topic” and “Intermediate Topic.” If the schedule has been shared between both courses, students in both courses will be able to see the instructor’s office hours.

Third Party Tools

The following options are not supported by Harvard IT, but they are free or low cost and may be worth considering for tech-savvy users.

  1. Timetap – free trial and free basic account; syncs with Google calendar; mobile friendly
  2. You Can Book Me – free basic account; works with a personal Google account and iCloud

Office 365

O365 users can take advantage of a simple solution; a web accessible form using Microsoft Excel.  You can share the link with your students (it's secured behind HarvardKey credentials) and it triggers an email to you whenever someone updates the file.  Inquire with the Computer Resources Help Desk if you have any interest in hearing more about this solution.

OpenScholar

  1. This service is offered by HUIT. CRG does not have administrative access to the system and therefore cannot add functionality or develop custom themes for users. However, HUIT does have a process for developing custom themes and requesting additional functionality. If you wish to pursue this option, please contact Sue Boland (sboland@gsd.harvard.edu) to set up a site for you. 
  2. In OpenScholar, office hour signups are referred to as Events: http://docs.openscholar.harvard.edu/adding-events
    In order to enable events on a site, an administrator needs to add the “App” to the site. The path to complete this task is “OS Panel” > “Settings” > “Apps” > “Events” select a setting and save.  
  • Disabled
  • Private
  • Public

This will cause the calendar to appear as a top level option; it can be moved to another menu.  

    1. Multiple Levels of permissions (for the entire site):
      1. Public on the web. — Anyone on the Internet can find and access. No login required.
      2. Anyone with the link. — Anyone who has the link can access. Not listed in Google. No login required.
      3. Invite only during site creation. — Private during construction, only people explicitly granted permission can access. Login required. (recommended for groups < 20 )
      4. Harvard Community — Only the Harvard community will be able to access your site. Login via HarvardKey required.
    2. This sample site is accessible by HarvardKey: http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/gsd-computer-resources-group/calendar/upcoming 
      1. Admin created a reoccurring event (Sue’s Office Hours)
      2. Click “Sign up for this Event”
      3. Fill out form
    3. Additional information can be found at http://standardisites.harvard.edu/openscholar