FAQ: Integrating learningCentral events into calendars (iCal) (admin)

We can integrate LMS Pack events into the vast majority of existing calendars in the market. Thanks to this functionality, all updated information relating students' training can be displayed on their email agenda. This option increases student engagement and the chance of a successful training.

To start it up, notifications with iCal in learningCentral have to be activated. iCal, short for iCalendar, is a standard that allows sharing calendars' information. Thanks to this integration, students receive an email with an iCal file to integrate all event information into their calendar.

The following information about learningCentral events can be displayed on students' calendar:

• Session data in which students have been enrolled.
• Any change in both session start date and session end date.
• Classroom reservations or classroom changes where sessions take place.
• Students receive a notification if they are disenrolled from a session.

In the table below, we can see what activities in LMS Pack are compatible with integrate events into calendars:

	Activity type
	Classroom. An activity conducted in person by a trainer, who will be in charge of evaluating the activity itself and controlling the assistance.
	Webconferences. An activity conducted through a webconference with a trainer, who will be in charge of its evaluation.
	External webconferences. An activity conducted through a webconference on an external platform with a trainer, who will be in charge of its evaluation.

Start up

Let's see as an example, the integration of events created in LMS Pack into Google Calendar. Apart from Google Calendar, other options as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird or Apple Calendar among others, will work similarly

How to activate notifications 

Go to the side menu in LMS Pack. In Configuration section, click on Notification settings.

Now, different tables are displayed on Notification settings screen with the following information:

• Event. Information about the notified event.
• Recipients. Who are the recipients of the notification.
• Has iCal. It reports whether the notification has iCal standard or not. It is not editable, it is a default value.
• Visible at inbox. It gives us the option to send notifications to the integrated notification service in LMS Pack.
• Send by email. This options allows us to send notifications by email.

• Send app push notification. We can enable or disable push notifications.

To configure notifications, select Edit settings at the top left of the screen.

After clicking on Edit settings, the screen appearance is as follows:

Only editable options appear on this screen, therefore, Has iCal does not appear.

We can select or deselect checkboxes depending on what we want to notify recipients.

Click on Save (bottom right of the screen) to apply changes.

Now that we know what is iCal and how to activate notifications, let’s see how sessions created in learningCentral can be integrated into a student calendar. 

How a session is added to Google Calendar?

Imagine that, for example, our student wants to enrol in a course in LMS Pack. They can do it by sending an enrolment request  (an enrolment request has to be accepted or rejected by the administrator) or by auto-enrolment.

By clicking on Catalogue tab in LMS Pack, students can select how they want to enrol. They can also be enrolled by the administrator.

The student has been enrolled in iCalCourse and they receive an enrolment notification in their email.

The enrolment notification is sent to the email account appearing on contact information in user profile section.

Once the student is enrolled in iCalCourse, they can access all course details by clicking on My training and then by selecting iCalCourse.

iCalCourse includes iCalActivity, which in turn includes iCalSession. This session is a classroom type session, therefore, information related to this session can be integrated into the calendar of the student..

When the student is summoned to attend iCalSession, they receive a notification in their email including an attached iCal file.

As shown in the above image, by clicking Add to Google Calendar, the student can integrate all event information into their calendar without downloading STUDENT_SESSION_SCHEDULED.ics file.

If integration has been successful, they can read the next message:

By accessing to Calendar, the student can check how all session data have been integrated successfully.

A start event and an end event are created corresponding with a session start date and a session end date. During the event, the student appears as "busy".

What if session dates are changed?

When session dates are changed, the student is informed by sending them a notification to their email.

The event information with the new dates will be updated into Calendar by clicking Add to Google Calendar.

iCalSession is a classroom session type, so it requires a room reservation. When a room is assigned to a session, the student is informed about it by sending a notification to their email account.

Click on Add to Google Calendar and go to Calendar.

We can see that a single event has been created for the room reservation. By clicking on the event, the student can access to more detailed information.

During the room reservation period the student apperas as "busy".

What happens if a classroom reservation is cancelled?

Let's imagine that the room reservation for iCalSession is cancelled. The student receives a notification in their email account to integrate the event into Calendar.

After clicking on Add to Google Calendar, the room reservation event disappears from the calendar.

What happens when a student is disenrolled from a session?

When a student is disenrolled from a session, they receive a disenrollment notification by email. They can add this event into Calendar.

When the student adds this event into their calendar, all events related to the session from which they has been disenrolled will disappear.