Here’s a neat feature of Google Calendar that I just discovered a few minutes ago. Dates that you have included in email messages in your Gmail (or other mail running through Google Apps) can now be automatically added to your Google Calendar. This doesn’t mean that every date in your Gmail will be added to a calendar, only dates that are associated with things that Google’s algorithm thinks is an event. For example, I made a hotel reservation today and when I received the confirmation email from Marriott the reservation was automatically added as an event to my Google Calendar. This feature can be disabled if you don’t want to use it. Click here for directions on disabling the Gmail to Calendar feature.
Applications for Education
Automatic scheduling of events could prove to be convenient when you’re organizing meetings with parents or colleagues through email messages. Students could use this feature to keep track of assignment due dates. If you’re already sending emails to them with a list of due dates, those dates should automatically appear on their calendars.