Online Calendars Can Help Families Coordinate (NAPSA)—There’s good news for those whofind it a challenge to keep the whole family on schedule and need to know when and where everyone has to be. The kitchen calendar has long served families well, but with more people on the go and spending more time on the Web than ever, it may be time to take a look at some Internet-based calendars that do a lot of the work of “managing your schedule” for you. In fact, according to the PEW Internet & American Life Project, 46 percent of Internet users who say they plan gatherings or arrange personal meetings use the Internet to do so. Here are six convenient and effective ways to use an online calendar, whose main advantageis letting multiple people securely view and add to the samecalendar: * Coordinate child care with your spouse—Both parents can see which child needs to be picked up where and when. You can even get an alert sent to your cell phone reminding youit’s time to go. * Never show up at the wrong soccer field again—With a Web calendar, every family with a child on the team can access the team’s schedule and see who’s bringing the equipment, snacks and drinks. * Keep up with homework—A teacher can create a calendar of homework assignments for everyone in the class to view and parents to monitor. (Calendars can be open to an individual, a group—secured via group members’ e-mail addresses—or completely public. * Kids can share their colorcoded calendars with each other— ys." Experts say that many families are replacing their well-used kitchen calendar with an online calendar that can be shared by all membersof the family. They can easily see what their friends are up to and join in on the fun whereverit’s happening— at the mall on Monday, the library on Tuesday and the movies on Saturday. * Publicize your event—lIf you’re helping with the school play or running the church bake sale, you can create a public Web calendar to attract an audience or customers. With Google Calendar in particular, you can open up your calendar to all users so people can see your events and add them to their calendars. * Always know about your favorite activities—Entertainment hot spots, sports clubs and other event venues are starting to publish Web calendars, too. With a couple of clicks, you can subscribe and never miss your favorite concert in the park. Google Calendaris free to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection, andit’s easy to get started. To learn more, visit www.google.com/calendar.
