Log in at https://vmicro.tusk.tufts.edu/ using your Tufts University Login Name (UTLN) and password.

Collections are groups of slides that have their own markers, details, and other information. A Virtual Microscope slide can be in more than one collection.

To access a collection:

1. Click on the Collections menu at the top of the screen to select a collection.
2. Once you are within a collection, click on a slide thumbnail image or name to open the viewer for that slide.
3. Click the Slide Information bar on any of the slide thumbnails to see available details.

You can search all slides by name, by details (number, tissue, diagnosis, etc.). Just use the search box at the top of every page.

The navigation tools of the Virtual Microscope are the same as Google Maps. You can click and drag on the image to pan the slide; view the slide full screen; and use the plus and minus icons (and mouse scroll wheel) to zoom in and out.

1. Click full screen icon to view slide in full screen.  Click again to leave full screen view.
2. Click plus icon to zoom in.  Click minus icon to zoom out.

1. Title

Markers are pins on the slide that indicate features or pose a self-assessment question. You must be logged in to view or add markers. Marker icons have different colors to show their type, as illustrated below.

1. A faculty marker that is visible to all users of VMicro.
2. A community marker (i.e., created by a student) that is publicly shared by the author. This marker is visible only to logged-in users.
3. A marker (either faculty or student created) that is marked as private. This marker is only visible to the person who created it. (See "Change who can see your marker" below).
4. A marker that has an error, such as a missing title. This is visible only to the person who created it until the issue is resolved.

Add a Marker

1. Zoom in on the feature of interest on the slide until it is in the center of the viewer.
2. Click the Add a Marker button. This will add a pin to the center of the screen and open the "info window".
3. Enter at least a title to the marker to make it visible to other VMicro users.

Edit the Content of a Marker

1. Click the Edit link to bring up the marker editor window.
2. Choose the marker type.
3. Enter a title or a question.
4. Enter an optional description or answer/feedback in the case of a self-assessment question.

Fine-Tune the Marker Position

Click and drag the marker to reposition it.

Change the Zoom Level of a Marker

1. Zoom to the level where you want the marker to be set.
2. Reposition the marker by dragging it. This will update the marker's position and associated zoom.

Assessment Markers

• If you choose the Assessment Marker button a new line will appear at the bottom of the window called “Show/Hide Keysearch terms”. Click on this line to reveal a box into which you can add search terms.
• If the student uses any of these terms in their response, those instances will be displayed bold blue text. Search terms should be comma separated; terms that consist of multiple words should be separated by a space, i.e. trachea, thyroid, smooth muscle, cilia.

Change Who Can See Your Marker

• Click the Make it private/Make it public link in your marker’s info-window to change its visibility.
• Public:
  • Faculty markers: anyone can see it.
  • Community markers: anyone logged-in can see it.
• Private: only you can see it.

Note: student markers (under the "community" category) are private by default and only visible to the student that created it.

Vote on Markers - Participate in Community Peer Review

• You can vote up or down public markers if you think they are of good/poor quality or accuracy.
• Markers with sufficient down votes will be automatically removed from the system.
• To vote, just click the up or down arrows at the top of the marker info-window.
• You must be logged in to vote and can only vote once per marker. Currently only community markers are votable.

My Favorites

When you are logged in, My Favorites is the first item in the collection list. You can add slides, markers, or specific views of slides to your favorites collection.

• To add slides to My Favorites, click Add to Favorites when viewing the slide thumbnail details in a collection or from the Info button when viewing a slide.
• To add a marker, click Add to Favorites from the marker's info window.
• To add a specific view to your favorites (x,y and zoom), click the Share/Save button; then click the Save View to Favorites link.