Calendar | How to subscribe to a Calendar

You can subscribe to a Calendar to get updates directly to your mail and private calendar, like Google Calendar and the calendar in Microsoft Outlook.

Via the Subscribe tool you can also export your calendar to external tool. Use iCal feeds to access your Calendar events outside of the learning tool. With iCal feeds, you can view your course events in external calendars such as Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar, and on mobile devices such as iPhones, BlackBerry smartphones, and Android phones.

Subscribing to an iCal feed syncs your external calendar application or device with the Calendar tool, keeping you updated without logging in to Brightspace Learning Environment. Refer to your device or application instructions for adding an iCal feed, as each application can have a different method for managing iCal feeds.

This article shows how to:

In the course homepage, navigate to the green navigation bar

  1. Click on My Brightspace
  2. From the drop-down menu click on Calendar
WUR Brightspace homepage - My Brightspace - Calendar

Enabling external calendars

1. In the Calendar homepage click on Settings. This will open the Settings pop-up menu.

Calendar page - click Settings

2. Tick the box Enable Calendar Feeds.

3. Click Save

Calendar page - Settings pop-up window

There should now be an option Subscribe. The Calendar is now set up to import and export calendars.

Calendar page - option of Subscribe

Exporting a calendar from Brightspace

Brightspace will export the calendar as an iCal-link (.ics file). Make sure the importing environment supports this.

1. On the Calendar homepage, click Subscribe. This will open the Calendar Subscriptions pop-up window

Calendar page - click Subscribe

2. Under Calendar Subscription it is possible to select which parts of the calendar need to be transferred. Options in the drop-down menu are:

  • All Calendars and Tasks
  • Tasks Only
  • All calendar items of specific courses

3. Highlight and copy the URL. This can be used to create a link in the external calendar.

4. Click Close to close the pop-up window. You can now paste this link in external tools.

Calendar page - Calendar subscriptions pop-up window

The generated link will subscribe the external calendar to (parts of) Brightspace. Any changes in Brightspace will also be applied in the external calendar.

It is also possible to Download the calendar as a separate .ics-file. However, the download option is a one-time event; any changes in the Brightspace calendar will not automatically updated in the external calendar, but will have to be manually downloaded again!

 

Now you know how to enable external calendars, and export a calendar from Brightspace!

Want to know more about the Calendar tool in Brightspace?

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