Introduction and Overview
This article explains how Reservations can be used to schedule Parent/Teacher meetings. In this example, Reservations features are used to create a Web page where the dates and times of potential meetings are listed. Parents and guardians who would like to have a meeting can then browse the available meeting times, and select one that best suits their own schedule.
When a parent or guardian has found an appropriate meeting time, they can reserve it by submitting a short form with their contact information. With each reservation, a notification email will be sent, and the request will be logged in The Digital Bell. A list of the existing requests can be viewed at any time, containing the dates and times of scheduled meetings, and the contact information for the parents or guardians who will be attending.
Note, while this article is not a step-by-step tutorial, it provides a brief overview of how Reservations can be used for a specific purpose. Examples such as this, located at the top of the Reservations section, will help you become familiar with this new feature, and what it can be used for.
The process begins with the creation of a Schedule, which is used to designate the available meeting dates and times. Next, a form is created, which prompts the parent or guardian to select a meeting time and provide their contact information. The form will then be added to a Web page, giving parents/guardians the ability to request a meeting from the school's Web site. Finally, an example of how these requests can be accessed within The Digital Bell, and the information they provide, is shown.
Meeting Agenda
The Schedule
Schedules provide the framework for Reservations, and each Schedule is composed of Time Slots. The Time Slots will represent a selectable choice, for those visiting the finished Web page.
In this example, each Time Slot will represent the date and time of an available Parent/Teacher meeting. On the finished Web page, in this instance, parents/guardians will be able to view each available meeting/Time Slot, and make a selection. For alternate ways to use a Schedule, and its Time Slots, see the other example articles at the top of the Reservations section.
When creating a Schedule, you will begin by entering a title, along with a description of the Schedule's intended purpose:
Once the Schedule has been created, Time Slots will be added to it. Each Time Slot will include a title, date, start/end times, and a short descripton. Each piece of information entered here will be visible on the completed Web page.
A new Time Slot is created for each potential appointment. In this example, one Parent/Teacher meeting can be held each day this school week, resulting in a total of five Time Slots that will be added to the Schedule. These five Time Slots will each contain the date and time for one possible meeting, as seen in the example image.
Schedules can also be modified at any time, to add or remove Time Slots, as necessary. After adding the Time Slots to the Schedule, the form will be created.
The Reservation Form
The reservation form will automatically list each available Time Slot, and collect contact information from the parent or guardian who is requesting a meeting. The form is created by, first, entering the preliminary information - the title of the form, a short description, and a "Thank You" message which is displayed to the parent/guardian after submitting the form.
Once the preliminary section has been completed, the Form Editor will be available. The Form Editor is used to build the form, itself, by adding "Form Fields." Form Fields can be used for many, varied purposes, such as prompting visitors for "Yes/No" choices, or adding a "Comments" section. In this example, the Form Fields will be used only to prompt a parent or guardian for thier contact information.
The full tutorial for creating a reservation form includes detailed information on adding Form Fields, but for the purposes of this article, a quick overview will be provided. All reservation forms will require a prompt for the visitor's first name, last name, and email address. The process for creating the Form Field for the visitor's first name is detailed below.
New Form Fields are added by clicking the "Add new field" link, located in the right margin of the Form Editor page.
After clicking the link, the Form Field's "type" is chosen. In this case, it will be a "Text" Form Field, which allows a visitor to enter a shot string of text, such as a name or address.
Next, the Title of the Form Field is entered. The title is used internally, and will not appear on the completed page. After the title, the "name," which is another internal field, is added. The "name" field is important, as this is one way the form communicates with the Schedule. The full tutorial includes specific information on compatible "names" that will need to be entered into this field.
After completing the opening section, an expanded list of fields and options is presented. The expanded section will be relative to the type of Form Field that is being created (Text, Comments, Radio List, etc.).
Here the "Label," is added, which is the prompt that visitors will see on the completed page. For example, by entering "First Name" into the "Label" field, visitors will see "First Name" followed by a blank text box where they can enter their name.
After entering the "Label," the "Is Required" option will be set to "Yes." When a field is "required," a visitor must enter information into it for the form to be submitted. All required Form Fields are marked with an asterisk.
Once the necessary Form Fields have been created, Form Actions are added. While Form Fields are used to collect data, Form Actions take that data and perform various tasks with it, such as processing online payments, or sending emails. Two Form Actions are required for reservation forms: "Reservation Schedule" and "Notification Email."
The "Reservation Schedule" Form Action is used to integrate the form with a Schedule, and automatically adds the Time Slots. "Notification Email" sends a message containing the submitted form data (name, email etc.) to the email address of your choice, whenever a visitor submits the form.
Form Actions are added by clicking the "Add new action" link, located in the right margin of the Form Editor page.
Next, the type of Form Action is selected from a drop-down menu, and configured further after clicking "Submit."
For example, after selecting the "Reservation Schedule" Form Action, a layout is chosen. In this case, the "List" layout will work best. This will provide a vertical list, in chronological order, of each available appointment time. Next, use the "Schedule" drop-down to select which Schedule (and associated Time Slots) to integrate with the form.
The "Notification Email" Form Action works much the same as the "Reservation Schedule" action. Here, a title is entered for the emails, as well as the address where the notification will be sent.
After adding the Form Actions, the form will be complete. The next step in the process will be adding the form to a Web page.
The Reservation Page
Once the form is complete, it can be added to a Web page. A new page is created for Parent/Teacher meetings, and the content editor is used to add information for parents/guardians, as well as the form itself.
In the page's content editor, forms are added by clicking the "Forms" link, located in the right margin - under the "Add Content" heading. Clicking this link adds a new "Form Group" to the page, where an existing form is selected, and added to the page.
After the form has been added, the page can be viewed by clicking the "Vew on Website" button, located in the right margin of the content editor. The image below contains an example of a finished reservation page.
This is the finished page that parents and guardians will view, allowing them to request a meeting by choosing a meeting time, then clicking the respective "Reserve" button. After clicking this button they will be shown a pop-up window, which displays the form, and prompts them for contact information.
After they have filled out the form fields with their information, and clicked the "Submit" button, they will be shown the "Thank You" message. At the same time, a notification email will be sent, and a "Request" will be logged in The Digital Bell.
Viewing Requests
Submitted Requests are logged in each Schedule's central information page. This page can be found by mousing over the "Calendar" link, in the menu at the top of the Digital Bell Dashboard, then clicking on the Reservations link.
After clicking the link, a list of the existing Schedules will be displayed. The central information page for any Schedule can then be viewed by clicking the "View" button (magnifying glass icon) to the left of the title.
After clicking the "View" button, a list of the existing Requests is shown. This list provides an overview, consisting of the selected Time Slots, the names and email addresses of the individuals who completed the reservation form, and the date each Request was received. An example of this section is shown in the image below, containing a Request submitted from the from created earlier in the article.
Additionally, the complete set of the form data entered with each Request can be accessed by clicking the "View" button (magnifying glass icon) to the left of the "Title" column. One of the benefits of Reservations is that this information can be accessed without having to do a manual export of the form data. The information provided in this section can then be used to contact the parent or guardian, to confirm their meeting.
Now that you have learned how Reservations can be used to schedule Parent/Teacher meetings, you can continue reading the introductory examples to learn more, or proceed to the Reservation Schedule tutorial - the first in the series of in-depth tutorials on creating and implementing Reservations.