Frequently Asked Questions

What is Top Hat for students?

Top Hat's dynamic courseware empowers educators to give students personalized, relevant, and equitable learning. It is a comprehensive engagement platform that educators can use to present lectures, take attendance automatically, ask questions, drive discussions, assign quizzes, homework, assessments, readings, and a lot more. Educators will inform students at the start of the term if Top Hat is required for that particular class.

Where to buy Top Hat?

Educators may ask students to use the Top Hat platform on its own, or in combination with a Top Hat interactive textbook. Students can buy Top Hat online using our website with the appropriate join code provided by their professor. Students may also be able to purchase access via their campus bookstore. For more information, see our Pricing page.

How does Top Hat LMS integration work?

The Top Hat gradebook houses every digital interaction between instructors and students. The results from attendance, quizzes, tests and assignments (including correctness and participation data) are available in the gradebook. Sync your Top Hat folders and course roster with your LMS at the start of the semester, and you’ll be given the option to include student grades as part of your sync. All data housed in our gradebook will now be automatically available in your LMS. We offer seamless integrations with all major LMS providers including Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, Moodle and Sakai.

What are the benefits of educational software?

There are a number of benefits to using educational software in the classroom, including: The ability to easily track student progress, like participation and performance data, which can influence the pace and breadth of instruction. Customizing content keeps learning relevant and up to date by adding case studies and research, as well as supplementing learning materials with assessments or discussion questions. Reduce administrative tasks through autograding functionality and by centralizing course preparation and organization. Make learning more engaging through interactive readings and assignments outside of class and using polls, quizzes and multimedia elements in class to encourage students to participate and apply their knowledge. Improve flexibility and accessibility for students by centralizing resources in one place for them to use in class, at home, or on the go through Internet-connected devices.

Which software is best for teaching?

There are literally hundreds of educational software tools available on the market today. Choosing the right option depends on your goals. Perhaps it's improving student engagement, encouraging collaboration between students or getting better insights into progress and performance. One thing to keep in mind is the potential impact on students (and faculty) in terms of the cost and added complexity that may come with using multiple tools. Top Hat conveniently provides a single platform you can use to manage your course and provide an engaging and interactive learning experience before, during and after class.

What online learning platforms are colleges using?

Institutions use a variety of different learning platforms. The backbone for most is typically a learning management system (LMS) such as Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, Moodle and Sakai. These platforms serve as a system of record, enabling instructors to plan and manage their courses, while measuring student progress with gradebooks. Many instructors use additional tools, including student response systems, digital courseware and testing software to engage students, provide access to learning materials (including interactive, digital textbooks), as well as give assignments and secure tests and exams. What makes Top Hat unique is that it complements learning management systems by serving as the student engagement layer, while helping to eliminate the need for additional tools that add cost and potential friction for students and faculty. Top Hat is currently used by 750 of the top 1,000 postsecondary institutions to deliver interactive readings and assignments, host polls and discussions, manage assessments and gain rich insights into student progress and performance to enhance the learning experience.