Cam23 2.0: Week 4, Thing 7: Doodle

Monday 11 July 2011

Week 4, Thing 7: Doodle

Welcome to Week 4

The problem:

You are always trying to organize events/meetings and are fed up of dealing with group e-mails and constant rearrangement of times.

The problem-solver:

Doodle is a simple, free way to schedule any event which includes several people. There is no registration required and the basic idea is that you set up an ‘event’ and input several days and times that are suitable. You then invite all attendees to go to a webpage and view the suggested times. They tick which they are able to attend, and by the end you should be able to see which time most people can make.

How to use:

1. Go to http://www.doodle.com/.

2. Click on the ‘Schedule an Event’ button.

3. Follow instructions for Steps 1-4 each time clicking ‘next’ to get to the next page.

At Step 1, you come up with a title for your event and, if you want, add a location, which is automatically linked to Google maps to show your participants where the even will be.
At Step 2, you decide on the dates that you are free and the time slots within each date that you are free and add them in the chart. If you want more time choices then you can add these at the bottom.
At Step 3 you can change the settings and allow participants only to give one answer or to answer yes, no, or maybe etc.
At Step 4 you need to decide whether you want to send an email to your colleagues/friends yourself or whether you want Doodle to do this. I tend to send the link myself but it is up to you!

4. If you have chosen to send the poll out yourself then check your e-mails from Doodle and follow the clear instructions in them.

5. Send the link out and wait for responses. Doodle will send you an e-mail every time someone votes.

6. You should get something like this in the end with a running total along the bottom to indicate when the most popular times are.