Teacher Instruction: Ways to Schedule Office/Student Hours – NYU Steinhardt

Introduction

The digital tools listed below can be utilized for virtual, in-person, or a combination of office/student hours. These tools support easy sign-up and organization by integrating with your existing Google Calendar. Some tools offer unique advantages, such as office hours chat, automatic generation of Zoom links, and automatic creation of calendar appointments for both instructors and students.

Resources

Office/Student Hours
To request more information or a consultation, please email steinhardtDIL@nyu.edu

Tools to Schedule Office/Student Hours

In General, Virtual Hours (Google Spaces, Calendly, and Zoom are options below)

Virtual hours offer flexibility.
You can offer both virtual and in-person meeting times or alternate some weeks.
Consider being open to video and chat for questions drop-in questions.

Calendly

Calendly is a scheduler tool that supports secure one-on-one or group Zoom meeting signups.
Custom office/student hour ranges can be setup with a choice of intervals (e.g. 15-minute slots within a specific 2-hour window each Tuesday and Friday).
When a student signs up, an automatic Zoom link and Calendar invite can be generated on both the instructor’s and student’s calendars, while blocking out that time slot from other students.
The same Calendly link can be used for multiple courses and semesters.
For questions and help setting up Calendly events, email steinhardt.technology@nyu.edu.

Google Appointment Schedule

Create a new Google event calendar.
Upload the sharing permissions.
Add an “appointment to the calendar” by selecting a time slot.
Then, select the top tab “Appointment scheduler”
Recurring dates and times can be set up with custom slots.

Reusable Zoom Link

This will be a first-come-first-served approach.
Reuse your Zoom’s Personal Meeting ID Zoom with the meeting room enabled.
Share the Zoom link in your syllabus and Brightspace Announcements.
During office hours, leave the Zoom meeting open, turn off your camera and mic, and wait for a guest to appear in the meeting room.

Google Spaces

Google Spaces offers students the option of both chat and/or video. Spaces start out as chat, but a Google Meet video link can easily be created.
Remind students that it’s a community space. If a student needs extra privacy they can request a one-on-one new chat outside of the Google Space.
Visit Google Chat and create a space (name it your course title).
Set the space’s permission to NYU and share the link in your syllabus and Brightspace course.
For questions and help setting it up with you, email steinhardt.technology@nyu.edu.

In-Person Hours

You can use digital tools to schedule in-person hours. We recommend Calendly or Google Appointment Schedule.
Consider adding not only the hours but also locations around campus as a choice. You can able choices to your digital tool for students to select. Consider adding a note that students should select a private location like your office if they expect privacy.