We at FislerData are thankful for all of the participants who sign up for items on TimeToSignUp.

And we’re really thankful for the account admins who have created sign up sheets so that participants can sign up for items.

And we’re really, really thankful for account admins who like the online sign up sheet site so much that they send us homemade biscotti!

This is for the TimeToSignUp admins:

Sometimes you need to remove a participant from a sign up sheet. Maybe they had a change of plans, or maybe the event changed and you no longer need their help.

You’ve always been able to remove a participant from a sign up sheet, but if you (the admin) removed the person, email
notification was not sent. Two days ago, however, we added the option to notify the participant via email if you’re removing him/her from the sign up sheet. Now you can remove the person and send email notification, or you can do it the old-fashioned stealth method and not send the email notification.

Thanks to an anonymous subscriber for requesting this option.

We have had a printer-friendly sign up sheet option on TimeToSignUp for several years.

In the past, it was formatted differently than the sign up sheets displayed on the site: while the site shows sign up sheets in columns, the printer-friendly version listed items in a grid (comparable to a spreadsheet).

Today we release the new format of the printer-friendly sign up sheets. These pdf’s look a lot like the sign up sheets you see on the site: columns with the items displayed under each heading.

Each version is still accessible to the account admins who need a hard copy to take to the event. While we like the old, spreadsheet-style pdf, we’re wondering if it’s outdated. Would anyone miss the old version if we removed it from the site? After all, it makes sense for the printed version to look a lot like the online sign up sheets we see on TimeToSignUp all of the time, doesn’t it?

Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments below.

For those of you with a fear of commitment, we introduce an inexpensive 30-day subscription option for TimeToSignUp.com. This provides you with all of the Platinum features (unlimited sign up sheets, email reminders, registration forms, participant-created entries) just like our standard one-year Platinum subscription, but for 30 days.

This option is perfect for subscribers who need TimeToSignUp.com for only a short period of time. Enjoy everything that TimeToSignUp.com has to offer without committing to a one-year subscription.

TimeToSignUp.com’s 30-Day Platinum Subscription: short & cheap – kind of like your high school prom date.

We frequently get requests for certain features to be customized in MyConferenceTime.com.

The most requests were for hiding the “Register for Multiple Conferences” link on the main page (and on staff pages when a staff member has more than one conference schedule available).

We are pleased to announce that account administrators now have the ability to hide the multiple conferences link. This can be done using the “Advanced Settings” link in the left column (admins only).

When viewing the advanced settings, account administrators will also see there are several other settings that they can customize.

In addition to the link for multiple conferences, admins can also specify whether the “Request staff account” link will be visible to anyone who is not logged in. (This is useful if all of your staff members have accounts set up and you don’t want to receive any more requests to approve additional accounts.)

And finally, staff names on the main page can be displayed in one column or two columns. (If you have many staff members, it might be easier for parents to find staff names in one column instead of two.)

The image displays the default settings for all accounts: the link for multiple conferences is visible, the link to request a staff account is visible, and the staff members are displayed in two columns.

With the start of the new year, we are introducing two new features on TimeToSignUp.com.

First, you now have the ability to duplicate an item in a sign up sheet with the click of the mouse. Instead of repeatedly typing “Volunteer for 5:00 – 6:00″ when you need 5 volunteers, simply enter the item once and then click the duplicate icon 4 more times. Sign up sheets keep getting easier and easier!

Second, the more flexible registration forms are now fully implemented on the site. While they went active back in the summer of 2011, they weren’t the default for many accounts. Now all new registration forms will use the new method featuring unlimited number of fields, sorting, and reordering of fields.

Happy New Year!

FislerData is excited about the newest feature added to MyConferenceTime.com: account admins can email each teacher his/her own conference schedule as a printer-friendly .pdf attachment.

It’s easy to do:

1. Log in as a MyConferenceTime.com administrator.
2. Click on the “Schedule Summary” link in the lower left column.
3. Select the conference schedule(s) you want to send.
4. From the drop-down menu at the top of the list, select “email .pdf schedule to staff.” There are two options: one shows all scheduled conferences, the other shows all scheduled conferences as well as available times.
5. In a few minutes, teachers will receive his/her conference schedule in their email inbox.

We expect this new feature will make organizing parent-teacher conferences even easier when using MyConferenceTime.com.

We posted new help files for MyConferenceTime.com yesterday and today. We’re trying to make it easier for schools to get set up and ready for parent-teacher conferences. Please remember that despite these new help files being posted online, FislerData is always willing to personally help you with any support issues that you have.

The start of school is rapidly approaching. Some teachers look forward to it and can’t wait to get the year started. Others hold onto summer vacation as long as possible, waiting until the last minute before heading into their classrooms to get things ready for the students. But the majority are somewhere in between: they look forward to meeting their students and working with them at school, but they also enjoy the relaxation of summer.

Regardless of where you fall in your view of the school year starting, everyone can use some help with the transition from summer relaxation to school stress. We’ve compiled a few tips to make the school year get off to a good start.

1. Get your classroom organized right away. It will let you focus on your students, and having this chore out of the way will relieve a lot of the start-of-year stress.
2. For experienced teachers, look at what you’ve done on the first day of school and evaluate if it’s a good activity. If it’s good, stick with it. If it needs some adjusting, seek some advice from other teachers. And please share ideas with the rookie teachers. They’re already lost, and the school year hasn’t even started yet.
3. Consider not handing out your list of rules, policies and procedures on the first day. This is especially applicable for secondary teachers because it’s possible your students are hearing the same speeches in every class. Mix it up a little for them.
4. Set a goal. Maybe it’s to smile more. Maybe it’s to grade papers quicker, or get to some of the students’ concerts or sporting events. Once you set the goal, write it down. And if you’re really feeling adventurous, discuss it with a colleague so that he/she can keep you accountable.
5. Figure out a time to exercise during the day. Before school, after school, anytime to get the blood flowing and take care of yourself.
6. Update your webpage. Parents and students look to the Internet for information and appreciate the teachers who have updated pages.
7. Consider more technology in your classroom. Having a class party? Please consider using one of our products, TimeToSignUp.com, to simplify the organization of volunteers and food. Your first sign up sheet is free, no strings attached. We promise.
8. Make it fun! And I don’t just mean your classroom. Have fun in the numerous faculty meetings leading up to the start of school. My favorite: playing bingo with buzzwords. I find it more fun to sit with others and come up with the list of words prior to the meeting, or use one of the lists available online. Up the ante by offering a prize for the winner. And double the prize if the winner yells “bingo” out loud during the meeting.

Do you have any suggestions for new or experienced teachers? Maybe you’re a parent, teacher or student – all viewpoints are welcome.

[Photo courtesy Miami U Libraries on Flickr.]

Congratulations to Bonne DuCharme, June’s TimeToSignUp.com Subscriber of the Month. Bonne receives one of our new TimeToSignUp.com hats!

Bonne has been an active user of TimeToSignUp.com for the past few years and has made some great suggestions to help improve the site. And she makes really good biscotti. (Those of you hoping to win this glorious title in the future, take note.)

Thanks, Bonne, for your use of TimeToSignUp.com!