At Kineo, we know that clear, accurate timing can make all the difference. That’s why our latest updates eliminate guesswork and time zone confusion. These enhancements make it simpler for users to quickly determine session times. These enhancements make it possible to show the session time based on where:

• the user is located.
• the session is being held.

The CBS now displays both time zones when the user’s time zone differs from that of the session.

Providing your students and trainers with this knowledge removes confusion and ensures a seamless experience for participants and organisers.

Running late for a very important date?

Stay one step ahead of the clock with this summary of what’s new in the CBS and Classroom Training platform:

• Session times are aligned with each user’s time zone, eliminating confusion, and making scheduling more user-friendly. This can be based on the user’s location, preferred time zone setting in the LMS, or the site’s default time zone.
   
• The dual time zone feature displays the user’s and session’s time zones whenever they differ, helping users quickly recognise the correct timing for sessions held in different regions.
   
• The use of every time zone code allows each session time to display the relevant standard time zone abbreviation such as AEST, CST, and CET. Furthermore, the Time Zone hover feature lets users know what the time zone code represents. Previously, the system used the generic GMT +X:XX time zone code.

These elements are designed to enhance scheduling by providing clear session start and end times, especially when catering for multiple time zones.

Got time to peer into the rabbit hole?

Look below if you’d like to delve deeper and discover more details about these time zone changes:

Time zone displays

• Single Time Zone Display: For sessions where the user and the session are in the same time zone, only one time zone is shown. For example, if they were both in Adelaide, South Australia), and the session started at 8:30 am on Tuesday the 26th of November 2024, the information would display as:
  • Tue 26 Nov 2024 08:30 ACDT.
     
• Dual Time Zone Display: When the user and the session are in different time zones (e.g., user in Adelaide/South Australia, session in Perth/WA), the system shows both the user’s and the session’s time zones. To differentiate the two, the session’s time has been given a tag that says ‘(local)’. For example:
  • Tue 15 Oct 2024 13:00 ACDT.
  • Tue 15 Oct 2024 11:30 AWST (local).
     
• Full Time Zone on Hover: Users can now hover over a date/time to see the time zone’s full name. For example:
  • Australia/Adelaide.

These features minimise scheduling errors, ensure clarity across time zones, and enhance the experience for users who attend sessions from various locations.

The student’s time zone

Students can take advantage of the time zone improvements throughout the Classroom Training platform. We’ve updated the following areas of the platform to cater for these changes:

• Session Details pop-up: clicking the name of a session opens the Session details pop-up – the My Sessions, My Calendar, and Course Details pages include this option. It shows general information about the session, helping students understand the basic details of that session. The time zone changes appear in the Start Time and End Time sections of the pop-up. 
   
• My Sessions: contains the student’s enrolled and pending Sessions.
  We’ve expanded the information held within the Start Time and End Time columns for both the Enrolled Sessions and Pending Sessions tabs so that they can display multiple time zones - the student’s time zone + the session’s time zone (if it differs).
   
• My Calendar: displays sessions using the student’s time zone based on their location, preferred time zone setting in the LMS, or the site’s default time zone. Clicking on the event opens the Session Details pop-up, which includes the relevant time zones.
   
• Course Details: shows the details of a course and makes the session enrolment process simple and convenient for students. The time zone enhancements appear in both the Enrolled Sessions and Scheduled Sessions sections under the Start and Finish columns.
   
• Enrolment confirmation: a pop-up that enables the student to confirm their session enrolment request. It contains the name of the session, its start and end times, its location, and a spot to add or update any dietary or learning requirements. It opens when the student clicks the Enrol button on the Course Details page. The time zone changes appear in the Start and End sections of the pop-up.

The admin or trainer’s time zone

An admin or trainer can see the time zone enhancements when they or the site have a different time zone than the session. The following sections of CBS have been updated to incorporate these changes:    

• Course > Sessions tab:
  The time zone improvements appear in a course’s session list within the Start and End columns.
   
• Session > Edit Session tab:
  We’ve updated the drop-down options within the Timezone field; this field is in the Student enrolment details section of the tab. In the drop-down, the time zone and the location have switched places. Now, the location is first, followed by the time zone.
   
• Session > Session enrolment tab:
  We’ve expanded the Student enrolment details section of this tab so that it shows the time zone enhancements in the Start and End columns of the table.