Take the work out of
tracking attendance

Tracking attendance can be a chore. Top Hat makes it quick and easy in any class. Save time so you can focus on what you do best—engaging and connecting with your students.

of instructors stated that attendance improved with Top Hat*
0 %
of students say Top Hat is easy to use**
0 %
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*Customer proof points survey of instructors using Top Hat, April 2017 (n=1,632)

**Spring 2025 Top Hat Student Survey (n=17,672)

Automated attendance
= time saved

  • Automate attendance in any in-person or online course so you can spend more time with your students
  • Students easily confirm their attendance using Top Hat or SMS at the start of a lecture
  • For in-person classes, you can use geolocation technology to verify who’s showing up and who isn’t
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Better attendance insights
Better student outcomes

  • Attendance scores appear immediately in your gradebook alongside assignment and test scores, giving you a holistic view of student participation and performance
  • Accommodate student absences as needed to make sure no one is unfairly penalized
  • Identify at-risk or chronically absent students by segmenting attendance data by 'attended', 'absent' or 'excused' so you can better support them
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Actionable data for
evolving teaching

  • Every interaction in Top Hat leads to actionable data you can use to help students and personalize your teaching
  • Capture results from graded discussions in the Top Hat gradebook, along with quizzes, polls and tests
  • See how your students are responding to material in class and out, so you know who needs extra support
  • Easily integrate with LMS platforms like Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, Moodle and Sakai
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Tools for teaching, learning and engaging

Automatic attendance is just one of the many ways Top Hat enables professors to teach with engaging content, tools and activities in online, hybrid or face-to-face classrooms

All Features

What's New

Attendance

In-Class Engagement

Assessments & Preparedness

Interactive Content

Insights

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Why educators and students love Top Hat

I use Top Hat to assign online homework and create in-class interactive activities. Overall, Top Hat lowered the DFW rates and improved student performance in my course.

Sherif Moussa

Professor, 
Virginia Commonwealth University

Top Hat makes me feel more confident that what I am teaching is working well. It definitely keeps students engaged; they are less likely to wander away from the lecture.

Curtis Izen

Professor, 
Baruch College

The entire platform was extremely user friendly; I wish that my entire university used this platform rather than just this one teacher.

Jay Hyssong

Student,
University of Southern Maine

Frequently Asked Questions

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.
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.
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.