Top Hat
Student Engagement and Top Hap (Video)
TOP HAT — a web-based classroom response platform — is a Canadian education technology startup based in Toronto.
Instructors use Top Hat to transform the mobile devices students already own into powerful tools for active learning. Rather than requiring students to purchase traditional classroom response systems, or “clickers,” Top Hat leverages students’ own smartphones, tablets, laptops or even SMS-based cell phones. Students can submit answers via text message or over WiFi. Since it is a web-based platform, activities can be completed during class or assigned for homework, and all of this material is stored in the cloud to use for review.
Top Hat offers a suite of features to augment the teaching and learning experience for both instructors and students. Using the platform, instructors create more than 7 different types of questions, moderate class-wide discussions, host class-wide tournaments and more.
All of the responses from students come in in real-time. This instantaneous feedback enables instructors to quickly assess comprehension of concepts before moving on to another topic. Also, requiring students to recall information and engage with it as it is being presented helps students both retain and comprehend material more effectively. Consequently, it helps to increase both student learning outcomes and student satisfaction rates.
The University of New Brunswick has signed a license agreement with Top Hat allowing all members of the university community the use of Top Hat free of charge as part of this agreement. Top Hat will be integrated into the Desire2Learn LMS (learning management system) in the coming year.
To get started with Top Hat contact:
On the Fredericton campus contact:
