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Opening CTools and Logging On

Now that you have logged on, what would you like to do?

A. Set up a CTools course site for a course you are teaching? -- Instructors

CTools is used to create websites for use in courses and projects. If you would like to view a webpage about the tools and features in CTools and what instructors can do with them, click the link below. You can see what's possible and decide what you'd like to include in your course site. Note that after you create your site, you can go back at any time and add or remove tools and features. Only instructors can create sites for official UM courses.

What Can Instructors do with CTools?

After you have an idea of what you'd like your site to include, go to the table of contents and click "Creating a Site." You will see links to two documents that explain, step-by-step, the process of putting together a course site.

B. Open and participate in the course sites for the courses you are registered for? -- Students

If you are officially registered for a course, you will automatically see the site for that course when you log on to CTools. Each site has a "tab." Click the tab to go to the course site.

If you are registered for a course but you don't see a tab for the course site, please click Common Questions in the Online Help contents for an explanation of possible reasons.

Instructions for using the tools in a course site can usually be found right on the site's web pages. You can also view at detailed information about the tools by clicking the little question mark -- "?" -- in the upper right corner of each the main page for each tool, or by looking under "Using the Tools" in the Online Help table of contents.

C. Set up a CTools project site for research collaboration or a project you're working on? -- Instructors, Students, Staff

A project website is one that has been set up for projects, research, or other activities involving collaboration. Instructors, staff and students can create project sites.

To set up a project site, go to the Online Help table of contents and click "Creating a Site." You will see links to two documents that explain, step-by-step, the process of putting together a course site.

D. Open and participate in a project site that someone else has set up? -- Instructors, Students, Staff

To open and participate in a project site, you must be a member of that site. Sometimes, a project site creator will add you as a participant of his or her site, in which case you are already a member and you should see a tab for that project site when you log on to CTools. (If there are too many tabs to fit across the window, some sites may appear in the - more sites - menu at the right end of the tabs.)

Other times, site creators choose make their sites "joinable." These are sites that you are not automatically a member of, but you have the option to join. To join a site, click this link and following the intructions.

Joining a site

Instructions for using the tools in a project site can usually be found right on the site's web pages. You can also view at detailed information about the tools by clicking the little question mark -- "?" -- in the upper right corner of each the main page for each tool, or by looking under "Using the Tools" in the Online Help table of contents.

Are you finding what you're looking for? Please send feedback about this online help guide to ctools-doc-comments@umich.edu Thanks! (For questions about using CTools, send email to ctools-support@umich.edu)