Math Department CTools Tutorial

1. Log In to CTools: Go to http://ctools.umich.edu/ (this link will open in a new window).
2. Click the "log in" button (figure to the right).
3. Then go on to select and duplicate a template site.

1. Select a Template Site from the top menu bar or -more sites- drop down: select MATH 1XX Template (where XX is 05, 15 or 16) for Math 105, 115 or 116; or MATH 000 Template otherwise.
2. After making your selection, you'll see something like this image. Note that the menu bar now shows your selected site in gold (c.f. the previous view). Also note that the template has a scary note reminding you not to edit it before you duplicate the site.
3. To Duplicate the Template, go to the left sidebar and, at the bottom of the menu, click "Site Info". Then click duplicate site at the top of the page, under the blue site info bar.
4. For the Site Title, use something logical like MATH 105 001 F09, so that the course number, section number, and term are clearly indicated. Check the term, and click "Duplicate."
5. Next, SELECT YOUR NEW SITE (after waiting a long time for the duplication to complete): Select the site to edit it.

1. Note that the Selected Site doesn't change when you duplicate the template! This is a, um, feature of CTools.
2. BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE, SELECT YOUR NEW COURSE SITE FROM THE MENU BAR OR -more sites- DROPDOWN MENU. (This is done the same way as when you selected and duplicated the template site).
3. Then set the roster for the course.

By Setting the Roster for your course site, you allow access to the site to those students who are enrolled in your class-section.

1. Check your selected site to be sure that you're working with your course site (not the template!).
2. Then click Site Info on the left sidebar, and Edit Class Roster (figure; previous) in the menu under the blue "Site Info" bar.
3. CTools will thoughtfully tell you that there is no class assigned yet. Click Add Roster at the top of the page.
4. Select the course roster for your course and click Continue. On the following page, confirm the add by clicking Add Class(es).
5. Next, add other Department users to your site.

By Adding Other Users to your site, you ensure that the Department administration is able to help you and your students with your class-section.

• Other Users that you want to add to your course site include: the undergraduate office and your course coordinator (if you are teaching one of 105, 115, 116, 215 or 216).
  Why you should add these users:

  • In the long run, whether or not you're still in the Department here, the undergraduate office is the first place that students who have questions about courses that they took go. So the staff in the office need to know what they can about the course!
  • If you're teaching a coordinated course, you should add your course coordinator because s/he is the person who has final responsibility for the course.

1. Click Site Info on the left sidebar, then Add Participants at the top of the page.
2. Enter the uniqnames on the resulting page (previous) for those users you need to add (the undergraduate office is Jessica Taylor, jrand; Bert Ortiz, ortizam; and Carrie Berger, caberger). Enter uniqnames one to a line.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page. You can assign all of these users the same role; click "Continue."
4. Assign the role of owner for the undergraduate office staff (note: we want to assign them the role of "affiliate", but there's a bug in CTools that stops us from doing that in a straightforward manner; see below). Scroll down, click "Continue." On the following page, don't send e-mail. Then Finish the add.
5. Update Roles: Scroll to the bottom of the Site Info page and change the roles in the participant list so that the undergraduate office has the role Affiliate. Then click Update Participants.
6. Next, Edit the Site Information for the course.

By Editing the Site Information for your course site, you change the default informational text and make yourself the contact person for the site.

1. Click Site Info on the left sidebar, then Edit Site Information at the top of the page, under the blue Site Info bar figure).
2. Edit the Site Text (edit page): this is the information that's displayed on the site "Home." You'll want to take off the scary note about the template site, and may want to edit the rest of the text, too. If you know HTML, you may want to toggle the edit mode and edit the HTML source for the page.
3. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and edit the Site Contact Information: fill in your name and e-mail for the Site Contact Name and E-mail, and then click Continue.
4. Review the changes you've made (shown in red) and then scroll down and click the Finish button. (Be sure to click "Finish.")
5. Then examine and edit the Syllabus in the template.

You need to Edit the Syllabus for your course site so that the basic information about the instructor, text, etc. are clearly indicated for students.

1. Click "Syllabus" on the left sidebar of your site to bring up the syllabus page (previous figure). Note that the syllabus consists of a series of Syllabus Items, each of which has a Title and Content. In some cases the content may be as little as single link, and in others it will contain information (such as your name, office number, etc.). At the top of the syllabus page is a create/edit link.
2. Click the Create/Edit link. This brings up a the list of syllabus items you can edit. By clicking on one of the items you can edit it. The add/redirect/preview links at the top of the page let you add a new syllabus item, or make the syllabus redirect to another document (that is, the syllabus link on the left sidebar will redirect to another document), or preview what the syllabus looks like as you edit. In most cases you will be able to simply edit the items that are present in the template, and won't need to add items or redirect from it.
3. Then Click on a syllabus item to edit it. This gives the item editing page. The Content Editor allows you to edit the content of the syllabus item. You may want to change the content of the Instructor, Prerequisites, Course Texts, Material Covered, and Grading Policy sections. For courses other than Math 105, 115 or 116, you will also want to update the (PDF) syllabus attachment. (Scroll down to change the attachment.)
4. Then Click the "Post" button at the bottom of the page to save the updates you've made.
5. Next edit the Resources in your course.

The Resources section of the template is where you can add resources for your students, and where there are initially Instructor Resources for your reference.

1. Click Resources on the left sidebar, to bring up the resources page. (previous fig)
2. The Instructors Info folder (formally, Instructor Tools and Info) contains resources that you can use in your class. As such, it should be hidden from students. Unfortunately, duplicating a site doesn't preserve these permissions. To reset them, click the action selector and select Edit Details, giving the Edit details page.
3. Select Hide this folder. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Update button.
4. Then review the content of your newly created site.

At this point, you've done the default configuration that your CTools site needs. The next step is to be sure that the content is what you want, and explore the resources that we have built in to the template.

1. On the left sidebar, click the Resources link to get the resources page.
2. Then click the Instructors Info folder to see the content of the folder.
3. Note the resources "breadcrumbs" at the top of this page: this allows you to navigate back to the top of the resources tree. Also note the resources in the folder: these include a number of Readme Files, a link to the Department's CTools Schedule Maker, and, depending on what course template you used, may also include things like sample first-day handouts from your course coordinator.
4. The README_FIRST file gives you information about the tools in the template, and some of the steps that you need to take to use it (such as hiding the Instructor Resources folder). Read it to get an overview of what the CTools site can do.
5. The README_SCHEDULE file gives you some information about the Department's on-line CTools schedule maker application.
6. The schedule maker link is a link to the schedule maker itself.
7. (etc.: depending on the template, you may find other resources here too!)

Where should you go from here? Play with your CTools site!

1. You may want to Edit the schedule---see the README_SCHEDULE file in the Instructors' Info; or
2. If you are not planning on adding resources for students to your site, you may want to edit the tools on your site to get rid of that tool; and
3. After editing the tools on the site, you will want to publish it.

Site Tools are the items that appear as links on the left sidebar of the site. The CTools template courses include a reasonable but generally minimal list of these tools. You may, however, want to add more (e.g., the Gradebook, Assignments and Announcements tools). If you want to use more tools than are on the template site you can add them—or, it may be that there are tools you don't want, which could be removed.

1. Click Site Info on the left side bar, and then Edit Tools at the top of the page. This gives a list of the tools that are selected for inclusion. You can add any you want that aren't present, or take off any that you don't want.
2. Then click the Continue button at the bottom of the page, and the Finish button on the following page.
3. Once you have your site finished, you should publish it so that students in your course will be able to easily find it.

Finally, the template site is by default unpublished, so it won't clutter up lists of sites. For your course site, however, you'll want it published so your students can see it.

1. Click Site Info on the left side bar, and then Manage Access at the top. Click Publish site and then the Update button to publish your course site.