Active Learning Platform - How to Use Top Hat


Introduction

Top Hat is one of two real-time student response systems at Virginia Tech. The other is iClicker

Contents

Instructors

Students

Getting Help

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Instructions

Instructors

Comparison of student response system (iClicker) / active learning platform (Top Hat)

Feature iClicker Cloud iClicker Classic Top Hat
Instructors present slides in the app  
Instructors can quiz students
Students must purchase remotes    
Students can use mobile devices  
Data stored in the cloud  
Auto-syncs with Canvas (others sync manually)    
Instructors can take attendance based on student device location/GPS  

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Setting up Top Hat

For detailed instructions see Top Hat's Professor: Quick Start guide.

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Create Account
  1. Go to Top Hat's website.
  2. Click Sign Up.

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  3. Click on Educator.

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  4. Type in your Virginia Tech email address and click Next Step.

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  5. Click the checkbox to agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Then click Log in with school account to sign in with single sign-on (SSO) and follow the normal log in and 2-factor authentication process.

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  6. Click Share to consent to information release.

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  7. Under I'd like to create a new account, click Sign-up as a Professor.

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  8. Fill in your name and phone number and choose Send verification code or Skip phone verification.

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  9. You'll go to the Welcome to Your Course Lobby page to create your first course.

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Create Your First Course
  1. You will be directed to your course lobby after creating your TopHat account. Click Create Course.

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  2. Fill out the course information EXACTLY as it appears in Canvas and click Create. Top Hat will go to the new course's page.

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Create Additional Courses
  1. Click Courses in the top left of the screen and then Create Course.

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  2. Fill out the course information EXACTLY as it appears in Canvas.  
  3. Click Create.

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Integrating Top Hat and Canvas

For detailed instructions, see LTI 1.3 (Canvas): Connect a Canvas Course to Top Hat.

  1. In Canvas, navigate to Courses and click on your course. Make sure you have published your course.
  2. Click on the Top Hat link in the course navigation menu.
  3. If pop-ups are not blocked, Top Hat will open in a new tab automatically. Otherwise, click Open in a new window.
  4. From the drop-down, click on the Top Hat course. Click Continue.
  5. When prompted, authorize Top Hat to access Canvas. You should see a success message in Top Hat.

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Sync Student Rosters

After you integrate Top Hat with Canvas, your course roster will sync with Top Hat. The initial sync will occur that night at 1:00 AM.

Within that initial first sync, in order for students from Canvas to port to the Top Hat course roster, they:

Students should not enroll manually to the course (via the Join Code or direct URL), otherwise risk being removed from the Top Hat course.

  1. Go to Top Hat's website and log in.
  2. Click on your course.
  3. Click Create to add folders/content. See the Quick Start Guide: Create content.
  4. Go to the course on Canvas.
  5. Create an assignment with Submission Type External Tool.
    1. Click Find to open a list of available tools.
    2. Click on Top Hat and click Open in a new window.
    3. Top Hat will open. Click on the folder or content that you've created in Top Hat that you want to link and click Continue.
    4. Click Confirm. If you have trouble confirming, you may need to go back to your content and ensure that they have a due date.
  6. You will be redirected back to Canvas. Click Select to close out of the Configure External Tool window.
  7. Fill in the rest of the assignment details and click Save and/or Save/Publish
  8. When students access the Canvas assignment, they can open the deep link by clicking Load in a new window to launch the assignment.
Manage Students
  1. Navigate to your course Student Manager by clicking the Students tab in your course header. 
  2. On the Course Access column you will be able to manage your students on Top Hat and understand whether or not they have successfully been synched from your LMS.
    1. When a student clicks any LTI link (Top Hat tool link or deep link), only that student is added to the Top Hat roster.
    2. Other students, will be added to the Top Hat roster upon the next nightly roster sync and will be displayed as follows:
      • Students with no Top Hat account will listed as Pending.
      • Students with a Top Hat account will be marked as No Access.
    3. Your students can receive the following email if you send an enrollment reminder via the Student tab in your Top Hat course.
      • Once they click the link and follow instructions, their Top Hat Course Access status will change to Full Access.

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Managing Top Hat Courses

Edit Course Settings

For detailed instructions, see Professor: Editing your Course Settings.

  1. In the Top Hat website, click on your course.
  2. Click on your name in the top right then click on the Course Settings icon to the right of the Join code.
  3. In the navigation under your course name, you can access General Settings, People & Roles, Grading, Timers, Attendance, LTI 1.3 LMS Sync, and Advanced.
    • General Settings: Rename your course and give a description. Add a password, change course availability, or delete the course.
    • People & Roles: Add other instructors and designers. Not for adding students. 
    • Grading: Manage which grades your students see. Enable and disable the gradebook. Hide questions and answers. Change grade display. 
    • Timers: Add a timer to questions. 
    • Attendance: Enable Secure Attendance to only allow students in the classroom to mark themselves as present. It detects how close the student device is to your device. 
    • LTI 1.3 LMS Sync. Check the Canvas course synced to your Top Hat course to sync grades and update any roster changes. Disconnect the course if the incorrect Canvas course is synced. See Integrate with Canvas for instructions.
    • Advanced: Manage how students interact with the content in your course.
  4. Click Save Changes after any edits.

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Create Course Content

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Students

Using Top Hat

Create Account

For detailed instructions, see Student: LTI Course Enrollment (Canvas).

You should not enroll manually to the course (via the Join Code or direct URL), otherwise you risk being removed from the Top Hat course.

  1. Go to Assignments in Canvas and click on a Top Hat assignment that your professor has created to open it.
  2. Click on Load Top Hat LTI in a new window.
  3. On launch, you will see that you need to log in with your Virginia Tech Top Hat account. Click Log in with school account.
  4. Click Accept to consent to release your data if prompted.
  5. On the next screen, you can create a new Top Hat Student account, or if you have an existing account you can login as you normally would.
    1. To create an account, enter your name and email address and click Next.
    2. Enter in your student ID number and phone number.
    3. Your account is set up. Click Continue.
  6. You'll see a message confirming that you've been added to the course. You will also be directed to purchase access to your course or redeem an access key if you haven't tied it to your Top Hat account yet.

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Purchase/Redeem Access

Redeem your access key for Top Hat or purchase access to your course either when you create your account or after you log in.

Pricing is as follows:

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Log Attendance

For detailed instructions, see Student: Attendance.

  1. Once your professor opens the attendance session, enter your course and go to the Classroom tab.
  2. Click Attendance.
  3. Enter your attendance code then click Submit.

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Resources

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Getting Help

Contact Technical Support

Both Top Hat and Canvas support Top Hat.

Request Demonstration

To schedule a personalized demonstration or learn more about implementing Top Hat in your course, please contact Top Hat directly. Top Hat’s dedicated Education Technology Specialist, Kevin, will get in touch with you.

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