At Top Hat Engage, join hundreds of innovative educators on a shared mission to make a greater impact on students by teaching with insight. Held in New Orleans, Louisiana, our higher education conference has something for everyone. Keep reading to learn more about what attendees enjoyed most at last year’s Engage conference.
Top Hat Certifications
There are two Top Hat Certification levels—one foundational and one advanced. The Top Hat Certification courses are designed for existing Top Hat instructors looking to gain a better understanding of the Top Hat platform, and master the tools necessary to enhance student success inside and outside the classroom. In previous years, participants enjoyed learning to use Top Hat’s formative and summative assessment capabilities to get a comprehensive view of every students’ performance in real time. “I enjoyed learning about the most effective uses of Top Hat to engage and assess students,” said one previous attendee. “I want to help them become active learners.”
By the end of this year’s certification sessions, attendees will understand how to use the Top Hat platform to customize and leverage digital content and design interactive presentations that spur engaging class discussions. This is a great opportunity to learn powerful and practical techniques to share knowledge and deepen learning by mastering the use of Top Hat for educational content delivery. Afterwards, all participants will be invited to an exclusive VIP experience overlooking the French Quarter.
How I Taught This Sessions
Last year, educators enjoyed learning how their peers used Top Hat’s all-in-one learning platform for their specific disciplines and class sizes. “I learned about new and more robust ways that others were developing using interactive Top Hat content to engage students,” a past Engage attendee said. Sharing best practices pertaining to assessment styles, discussion tactics, and engagement strategies, participants found new ways to apply practical insights to their own classrooms to move their students forward.
This year, there will be a number of different sessions running during each designated time slot, giving new Top Hat users the chance to connect and learn from peers who are seasoned experts with the platform. Each of the sessions will be conducted by a different creative instructor, who will demonstrate how they are leveraging Top Hat to drive innovation and improve learning outcomes in their courses. These sessions are conducted as intimate, small group discussions to ensure the free exchange of ideas and questions between participants.
Top Hat Educator Awards
The Top Hat Educator Awards will honor educators who have raised the bar to improve learning experiences for students before, during and after class. This year, there are three awards: Most Innovative Educator, Student Impact and Top Author. At the previous Engage conference, educators were inspired by Top Author Award winner Andrea Hendricks, professor of Mathematics at Georgia State University Perimeter College. “I was inspired to think about what I could change about the way we teach STEM disciplines on my campus,” said one attendee and fellow mathematics professor.
The Most Innovative Educator Award is presented to an instructor whose innovative use of Top Hat has created a better educational experience for learners. The Student Impact Award is given to a member of the Top Hat community who has used the platform to connect with students before, during and after class to improve learning outcomes. The Top Author Award is given to a community member who has utilized Top Hat’s authoring tools to create interactive digital courseware to engage their students more effectively. Our award winners, and their remarkable stories, will be shared at our Top Hat Educator Awards Gala—an evening you don’t want to miss.
Birds of a Feather Networking Lunch
The Birds of a Feather Networking Lunch is a chance for Engage 2020 attendees to mingle with peers and share experiences across disciplines in an unstructured setting. Scheduled just after the How I Taught This session on Day 3, this is a wonderful opportunity to continue the conversation, discuss best practices and compare notes on using Top Hat to engage students before, during, and after class. Attendees can build relationships with like-minded peers from across the country and across academic disciplines. “I’m looking forward to hearing more about how other instructors incorporate Top Hat in their courses, as well sharing how I engage with my students in my classroom,” said a two-time Engage participant and speaker.
There is something for everyone at Top Hat Engage, from keynote speeches to innovative industry professionals, to inspiring panels, to hands-on workshops. Join us on March 5–7 in New Orleans to discover how to make real-time instructional decisions—powered by data—to increase student engagement and successful learning outcomes. It’s a chance to get inspired by your academic peers and learn how to improve your teaching experience.
