Description
Student response system (Top Hat) that uses students' personal devices (smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc.) combined with interactive slides to facilitate classroom discussions, track attendance, and conduct real time polls or quizzes. Outside of the classroom, Top Hat offers an Interactive Text platform where instructors can adopt, customize, or create Open Educational Resources for their courses in place of traditional textbooks. Whether you are teaching in person, online, or a blend of the two, Top Hat empowers you to motivate and engage your students - anytime, anywhere.
Access
Who can access
All current instructors and students are eligible for a Top Hat account at no cost.
How to request access
- Instructors - Visit the registration page to sign up for an account using the Ohio University credentials.
- Students - No request needed. If your instructor uses Top Hat, you will receive an email invitation to join the course.
Features
- Attendance
- Track attendance in real time attendance using course-specific join codes
- Configure geolocation for location-based attendance tracking
- Interactive Slides
- Ask quiz questions and display answers in real time
- Make edits to presentations on the fly
- Open Educational Resources
- Design and deliver low-cost content via the Top Hat Platform
- Curate content from a variety of Marketplace items
- Assignments
- Use a wide variety of question types
- Embed questions directly into lectures
- Individualize assignments for specific students
- Exams & Quizzes
- Lock down students' browser windows at no cost
- Randomize questions on your exams
- Leave comments/feedback for students when handing back exams
- Virtual Classroom
- Use live video streams and chat to engage students
- Integrate Top Hat with Community for course-specific communication
- Record class lectures for later access - If you are in need of lecture capture solution, please consider OHIO’s preferred lecture capture solution, Panopto.
- Community Chat
- Paired with the virtual classroom to provide real time chat capabilities
- Allows for break out groups and group work in a virtual setting
- Keeps record of all course communication in one location
- Remote Proctoring
- Administer an exam using a fee-based remote proctoring service within the Top Hat platform - instructors who wish to administer a proctored exam should consider OIT's preferred online proctoring solution, Proctortrack.
Connect with other applications
Additional resources
Join the Teaching and Learning Technologies Advisory Community
Service support
Get help
- Visit the Technology Help Center (help.ohio.edu) to get live support, view outages, and browse trainings.
Accessibility
You can learn about accessibility features(opens in a new window) in Top Hat by visiting their website.
Ohio University strives to make its digital resources and services accessible to all visitors, including those with disabilities who may also be using assistive technology. If special steps are necessary in order to improve the accessibility of experiences for end users, those steps must be taken.
If you experience a barrier that affects your ability to access OHIO websites, videos, online forums, documents, or other information technology, please let us know.
For further information about OHIO's digital accessibility resources, see:
Security
The Ohio University Information Security Office strives to educate and empower the University community to appropriately manage risks and protect OHIO’s information and systems. This effort is facilitated through policies, standards, an information security risk management program, as well as other tools and guidance that are provided to the University community. This modern approach creates a safe computing environment in which the university community can teach, learn, and conduct research.
For additional information about OHIO’s security resources, see: