Understand the transformative impact of effective calendar management on teaching experiences. Empower yourself to optimize your teaching schedule and enhance productivity using Google Calendar and Fluentbe integration.
Set your availability and booking settings
Log into your teacher’s account at https://school.fluentbe.com.
To mark your availability, you need to:
go to the profile tab by clicking on your avatar in the top left corner (marked as number 1) in the screenshot below
go to the "Calendar of Availability" section (marked as number 2) in the screenshot below.
Set your Switching time
Switching time - a break between lessons booked in a row (marked in the screenshot below)Sometimes, with 20 students and the switching time set to 0, they can book 10 lessons in a row without any break between them. Switching time options are 0, 5, 10, or 15 minutes between lessons, ensuring no back-to-back bookings for current students.
Regarding new students, if you want to constantly attract new learners, we don't consider your switching time, so sometimes you may be able to conduct two or three lessons in a row. We recommend setting the smallest switching time possible so that students can fully benefit from your availability.
Set your Advance notice
Advance notice - the minimum time required before a class that allows a student to book it (marked in the screenshot below)
You can set your switching time between lessons from 0h, 1h, 3h, 6h, 12h to 24h.
The shorter advance notice, the better. ✅ Why? There are a few reasons for that:
efficient filling of available teaching slots,
maximizing teaching time and income potential,
allowing new students to book classes with you from day one at Fluentbe,
enhancing student engagement through flexible class scheduling,
accommodating last-minute learners for a steady flow of new students.
To reduce advance notice, adjust settings in the profile tab, but remember that you still should obey the 24-hour rule to avoid no-shows or late cancellations.
Connect with Google Calendar
Begin by clicking the "connect" button and logging into your Google account.
Allow Fluentbe calendar access to your Google account to initiate the integration.
By default, your primary Google Calendar will sync with Fluentbe. However, if you utilize multiple calendars, select the ones you wish to integrate.
Ensure that the time zone settings in your Google Calendar align with your Fluentbe profile for accurate scheduling.
Mark your availability for Fluentbe
Setting your availability slots on Fluentbe is crucial for managing your schedule effectively.
When you add your availability, remember that it reflects your local time zone, however, your available hours are visible for our students in the timezone they have set on their profiles so everything should be working well.
Keep in mind that any changes to your availability will significantly impact your students' schedules. For instance, if you have an individual student with cyclic lessons scheduled on Mondays between 10:00 - 11:00, and you adjust your availability here to 10:30-11:30, all lessons within that schedule will be cancelled for that student. Mind that every time you want to change your general availability.
Booking preview
At the end of this process, and at any given moment, you should always check your "booking preview" (marked as 1. in the screenshot below) if everything works well - click, and you can see which slots are visible to your students.
You can check them in different time zones (marked as 2. in the screenshot below)
If the slots do not appear correctly, please check if:
The time zone you are checking is indeed the one you intended to check.
Some events in your Google Calendar have been marked as 'busy' (how to manage the events in your Google calendar is written below)
Events from other workplaces or private events have been added to a calendar that is not integrated with Fluentbe.
The switching time has been set correctly.
Best Practices and Important Considerations
Remember that your calendar remains private unless explicitly shared with others.
Avoid inviting Fluentbe students to calendar events, as they receive all necessary details via automatic email notifications.
Managing Days off & Holidays & Availability changes
Setting the correct calendar & Creating events
If you plan days off or holidays, you need to block off slots in your calendar so that your 1:1 students don’t book lessons with you when you are relaxing 😊
On the main page and in the 'Calendar of Availability' tab there are two buttons you should know what they do.
The most important thing here is to check if the correct calendar has been set up it has to be left with the same name in the profile in our school and the Google Calendar. (number 2 in the screenshots)
Creating the event in the calendar
With the proper calendar set and added, let's move to create an event. On the left, you can find a button 'create' -> 'event' (number 3 in the screenshot)
2. After clicking the event it popups the window with the option to create an event it is important to always set the event as 'busy' (number 5 in the screenshot) and select the proper time (number 4 in the screenshot)
One-hour break during the day
Did you know that you don't have to remove slots from your general availability but instead you can just simply create an event in your Google calendar to give you time for a one-hour break?
Choose the date and time, here it will be one hour. (number 4 in the screenshot) Also make sure the event is set as 'busy' (number 5 in the screenshot)
❗ Mind you that if your students booked classes with you earlier than you set up a busy event, the lessons won't be cancelled automatically. You have to cancel them manually. Such an event prevents new lessons from being scheduled in the slot you will not be available in. ❗
2. Once clicking 'save' the system will create an event (number 6 in the screenshot)
3. Check if the calendar is blocked by moving to the 'calendar of availability' tab clicking on the 'booking preview' and checking the Monday (number 7 in the screenshot)
4. Once refreshed the slot will disappear (number 8 in the screenshot)
A couple of hours break during the day
Did you know that you don't have to remove slots from your general availability but instead you can just simply create an event in your Google calendar to give you time for a couple of hours break during the day?
If you don't know how to create an event go back to the 8th point of this article. ☝️
This time we created two block slots one from 9:00 am to 11:00 am and the second from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm (number 9 in the screenshot below)
❗ Mind you that if your students booked classes with you earlier than you set up a busy event, the lessons won't be cancelled automatically. You have to cancel them manually. Such an event prevents new lessons from being scheduled in the slot you will not be available in. ❗
3. Before the change in the calendar, the availability here is from 9:15 am to 1:35 pm
4. After the change, the blocked hours disappeared and two slots are visible 11:00 am and 12:05.
❗ Note that the blocking event was from 9:00 am to 11:00 am so it means the slot at 11:00 is free if you would like to have it blocked you need to prolong the event to noon ❗
One day break
Sometimes there are situations where we need to be off for one day. You can also block your whole day using the events we discussed previously.
To block one day in the calendar you need to mark from 12:00 am to 11:30 pm.
Please note that if you add the “all-day event” it will ❌ NOT block your schedule and students will still be able to book lessons with you so instead use an hourly range.
❗ Mind you that if your students booked classes with you earlier than you set up a busy event, the lessons won't be cancelled automatically. You have to cancel them manually. Such an event prevents new lessons from being scheduled in the slot you will not be available in. ❗
Please note that any break which is longer than one day should be consulted with the office. For individual courses please cancel the lessons.
If you have group lessons on this day please request a substitution
More than one day's break
Everyone needs a break, right? Here the Google calendar allows us to block a couple of days with only one event.
With the starting steps previously discussed in the 8th point of this article, let's get to the 'more options' (number 12 in the screenshot below)
❗ Mind you that if your students booked classes with you earlier than you set up a busy event, the lessons won't be cancelled automatically. You have to cancel them manually. Such an event prevents new lessons from being scheduled in the slot you will not be available in. ❗
2. On the left, there is the first day of the absence, and on the right last day. Here the times should be selected the same as in the 'one-day break' scenario. (number 13 in the screenshot below)
3. Once the event is created the slots will be blocked you can check it in the booking preview
Please note that any break which is longer than one day should be consulted with the office. For individual courses please cancel the lessons.
If you have group lessons on this day please request a substitution
What to do if I want to take a break longer than 1 month?
To ensure a smooth and efficient process. I recommend to:
Block your calendar
Cancel lessons with 1-to-1 students Do not request a substitution for the individual courses as we don't look for replacements.
Request a substitution for your group
Inform your students via messages or during the lesson about your holidays. If some of them would like to learn with another teacher ask them to contact us.
Mail: [email protected] or Phone: 22 307 11 71
Additionally, if your break is longer than 1 month, take a look at the crucial information below 👇
If your absence is longer than 1 month, it impacts your groups - they are gonna be reassigned to a substitute teacher for the period of your absence. That being said, you have to remember a few important additional things that are below 👇
inform your group students that they will have a substitute teacher for the period of your absence
write to us a minimum of 14 days before the established day of your return with a confirmation that you are going to be ready to conduct your previous courses.
❗ Mind you that if we don't receive the confirmation of your return a minimum of 14 days before your planned day of coming back, your groups will be reassigned to another teacher. ❗
Remember that there is a risk of archiving a group course for reasons beyond our control or having group students who want to stay with a substitute teacher permanently, so we do not guarantee that you will get a certain group back after this longer period of your absence.
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need any assistance or once everything is taken care of.
Steps to Take When Your Overall Availability Changes
If your availability may shift over time, in such situations, it's essential to follow these steps:
Make changes in your general availability: go to the "Calendar of availability" tab on https://school.fluentbe.com/ and make changes in your general calendar of availability:
Communicate with Your Students: Whether through chat or during a lesson, inform your students of the situation. Open communication fosters trust and understanding between you and your students.
Reschedule Classes: Make an effort to find new dates for your students' classes. Flexibility and accommodation demonstrate your commitment to their learning journey.
Notify Us: Create a list of students whose courses you won't be able to teach and send it to us via the chatbox. This ensures that we are aware of any changes and can take appropriate action.
Inform Your Students About Support: Let your students know that we will reach out to them to assist in finding a new teacher. Alternatively, they can independently select a new teacher using our platform. Empowering students with options ensures continuity in their learning experience.
Emergencies
If you aren’t able to teach your lesson(s) due to sudden circumstances, follow these steps:
Contact the Fluentbe office team as soon as possible using one of the below-listed channels:
Adress mail at [email protected]
Emergency phone number +48 799448799 (only text)
Alternative emergency phone number +15405727242 (only text)
In an SMS message write your name and surname, and your student’s or group’s name that you refer to in your message. It will allow us to identify the affected student(s) and take necessary actions.
Contact your student(s)
Learn about the consequences of the late cancelation 👇
If you don’t show up or cancel your lesson in less than 24 hours, the system informs you about the deduction.
You should contact the office team immediately and explain the situation.
If you would like us to waive the deduction within three days, you need to provide evidence of force majeure as an official doctor's document or a document about incapacity for work as a result of sickness from the official organization in your country. The evidence has to have the date of the day when your lesson was scheduled.
Fluentbe will examine the situation and the document you provided. We will contact you back within 14 days to inform you of the result.
What explanations won't we accept?
Evidence of the force majeure without a date on it
Evidence of the force majeure with a different date than the day of the deducted class
Situations when you could cancel your classes in due time (if you are ill, take time off for a few days to recover)
How to avoid deductions?
Keep your calendar up to date to get the bookings you want.
If you have other professional obligations, make sure they don’t interfere with your Fluentbe lessons.
If you plan to travel or have family events plan extra time for delays or unexpected situations.
If you get sick, take time off in due time - your body deserves a rest!
We aim at transparent rules for both students and teachers. If you need to talk about it, please contact mentors and teacher trainers.