Features
Engage every student with
learning that feels personal
Top Hat makes every student an active learner in your lectures and beyond.
Grounded in learning science, our interactive and personalized teaching tools spark engagement from day one. See how Top Hat brings connection to every course.
Create your next teaching breakthrough
Get students interacting
in seconds
Top Hat makes participation effortless with interactive polls, lively discussions and instant feedback. Keep every student involved—and every class packed with energy and insight.
Where learning deepens
beyond class
Top Hat extends active learning beyond the classroom with interactive homework, dynamic readings and personalized study tools. Every activity keeps students thinking, participating and applying what they’ve learned—and serves up insights that give you a pulse on student learning.
A 360 degree view
of student progress
Top Hat’s real-time insights allow you to keep every learner on track. From data captured in lecture discussions to questions answered in homework assignments, you receive signals on student performance early and often, so you can drive better outcomes in your course.
An AI-powered assistant
that enhances your
teaching impact
Ace, Top Hat’s AI-powered assistant, helps you do more of what matters—teaching and inspiring students. Save time preparing for classes, enhance your slides with interactive prompts and give students 24/7 access to personalized study and practice, all tailored to your course materials.
We’re always innovating for what’s next in higher ed
See how our latest AI-driven tools and time-saving features simplify prep, personalize instruction and empower better outcomes.
A seamless partner
for your LMS
Top Hat integrates with all major Learning Management Systems for a frictionless teaching and learning experience. Automatic roster and grade syncing keeps everything organized and saves you time, so you can focus on teaching—not administrative tasks.
Tools for teaching, learning and engaging
Top Hat helps you create engaging content, encourage participation, and support student success in any learning environment
Why students love Top Hat
For more complex courses like biology and psychology it helps to have check in questions during lectures to make sure that you understand the content. These questions give the professor an idea on how well the information is being retained and what needs to have more time spent on.
Student
Louisiana Tech University
It was very easy to navigate. I also liked the questions provided through Top Hat as it better prepared me for the actual quizzes and tests in our class. I also liked the AI built into the course as I found it to be engaging and informative.
Student
University of North Georgia
I liked how it's very simple to use. It's a great way to keep track of attendance for the professors and keeping the class engaged with live questions. I like how you can check your grade as well.
Student
Georgia State University
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Top Hat?
Top Hat is the leading student engagement platform for higher education. Top Hat empowers educators to deliver interactive, personalized learning experiences using features like live polling, classroom polling, interactive labs, and attendance tracking. Grounded in learning science and enabled by AI, Top Hat makes it easy to engage students in and beyond class, track progress in real time, and drive the outcomes that matter most: belonging, persistence, and academic success. In addition to its student engagement platform, Top Hat offers a catalog of digital textbooks, including interactive textbooks, college textbooks, and eText materials. Educators can create or adapt course content, use built-in polling tools and clickers, and track progress through integrated attendance tracking software and performance analytics.
Where can I purchase Top Hat access?
Educators may ask students to use the Top Hat platform on its own, or in combination with a Top Hat digital textbook. Students can purchase Top Hat access online through our website using the join code provided by their instructor, or through their campus bookstore.
Top Hat unlocks access to interactive learning tools including live polling software, class attendance tools and digital textbooks that make assignments for students and in-class activities more engaging. For more information, visit our Pricing page.
How does Top Hat LMS integration work?
The Top Hat gradebook captures every digital interaction between instructors and students—from class attendance to live polling, quizzes, tests and homework assignments. 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 your 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 attendance tracking software, autograding functionality and by centralizing course preparation and organization. Make learning more engaging through interactive textbook readings and assignments outside of class and using live polling, 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?
From attendance tracking software to college textbooks, there are 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. A core consideration 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 live polling software, digital textbooks 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 faculty at more than 1,500 postsecondary institutions to track class attendance, deliver digital textbook readings and assignments, run live polling and discussions, manage assessments and gain rich insights into student progress and performance to enhance the learning experience.