How to add events

1. Sign up with the family Google account

Use one Google account for the whole family, for example [email protected]. The app reads the calendar and never changes them. Then add each family member with their email and the name the tablet should call them.

2. Let invitations reach the family calendar

In the family account, open Google Calendar on a computer:

  1. Click the gear icon, then Settings.
  2. Under General → Event settings, set Add invitations to my calendar to From everyone.

Without this, events you're invited to from other accounts may never appear on the tablet.

3. Choose when reminders start

Every event is announced 30 minutes before it starts. Change it under Settings → Remind before.

All-day events are shown on the tablet and read out once, in the morning summary when your quiet hours end. This needs quiet hours and Morning summary turned on under Settings. Without quiet hours, all-day events are shown but not announced.

4. Add events, two ways

On the family calendar

Create the event in the family account and invite the member the event is for as a guests. You can choose to send the invite or click Don't send when prompted.

From your own calendar

Create the event in your own Google Calendar and invite the family email. You are matched as the organiser, so the tablet calls you by name.

If the family account declines an event, it's ignored.

What the tablet says, and when

  • When the reminder is due: "Jennifer, your Maths tuition starts in 30 minutes, at 4 PM, at Bright Minds Centre."
  • The place comes from the event's Location in Google Calendar; with no location, that part is left out. Type it the way it should be said, e.g. "Bright Minds Centre" rather than a full street address. To stop locations being read out, untick Read event locations on the Settings page; the tablet still shows them on the card.
  • The reminder starts a short round counting down to the start (with 3 announcements and a 30-minute reminder, the tablet speaks at 30, 15 and 0 minutes), ending with "Jennifer, Maths tuition is starting now."
  • A last call a few minutes before: "Jennifer, reminder: Maths tuition starts in 5 minutes."
  • Tap Got it on the tablet to stop the rest.
  • During quiet hours nothing is spoken, but the cards still show.
  • When quiet hours start, the tablet reads out tomorrow's events. When they end, it reads out each person's day: "Good morning Jennifer. Today you have: Maths tuition at 4 PM, at Bright Minds Centre." Either can be switched off on the Settings page.

Change these on the Settings page.

Tablet setup tips

  • Android: use Fully Kiosk Browser and turn on Autoplay audio, so speech still works after the tablet reloads without anyone tapping it.
  • iPad: open the link in Safari and turn on Guided Access to keep it on this page.
  • Keep the tablet on its charger and turn the screen timeout off.
  • The tablet starts by itself. If its browser blocks sound, a yellow banner says so: tap anywhere once. To never need that tap, allow sound for this site in the browser (kiosk browsers such as Fully Kiosk have an autoplay setting).
  • The tablet reloads itself once a night to stay up to date.

Troubleshooting

  • An event isn't on the tablet: check it's on the family account's main calendar, within the next few hours, and not declined. Use Sync now.
  • The wrong name, or "Everyone": the guest's email must match a member's email exactly, as set on Members.
  • A name sounds wrong: spell it the way it sounds (e.g. "Ah Boy" or "Shaw-nah") and use Preview.
  • A place sounds wrong or too long: shorten the event's Location in Google Calendar, or turn off Read event locations in Settings.
  • No sound: if the yellow banner shows, tap the screen; check its volume, and check you're outside quiet hours.
  • Red Wi-Fi icon: the tablet can't reach the website. It keeps trying on its own.
  • "Calendar disconnected": sign in again with the family Google account.