Teaching and Learning Resource Center

Getting Started with Top Hat for Instructors

Top Hat is a web-based student response system that allows you to create an interactive lecture experience for your students. You can use Top Hat to poll the class, present discussion prompts, display lecture material, track attendance, and sync grades with CarmenCanvas. 

Students can respond to Top Hat questions and prompts using the devices they already own, such as smartphones, laptops, or tablets. There are both browser-based and app options for this tool. 

Check your wireless connection

If you teach a large enrollment course, you may experience internet issues while using Top Hat. Ohio State's Office of Technology and Digital Innovation recommends that instructors use the podium PC when using Top Hat in the classroom. Prior to using Top Hat for a large class, contact whoever manages your classroom to ensure the internet is strong enough to support many devices being used at once. 

See Getting Help with Top Hat for more information.

Getting Your Top Hat Course Ready

While Top Hat can be used in conjunction with Carmen, it does not have to be. Below are steps on creating a standalone Top Hat course. To sync a Top Hat course with Carmen, follow the steps in Using Top Hat 1.3 in your CarmenCanvas Course. You can sync your courses at any time.  

Creating a Top Hat Course 

  1. Log in to Top Hat and create your course. See the First Time Login and Course Creation page within this instructional guide for more information. 
  1. Build your course content. Top Hat Support offers detailed help articles for setting up Top Hat tools, including the following: 

If you are re-using an existing course, you can create a new course site and copy the content in one step.  On the instructor dashboard, you will see a "doubled page" icon to the right of the course title.  Click the icon to bring up a menu allowing you to create a new course into which your existing content will be copied.  Courses with a lot of content can take up to 60 minutes to fully import. 

  1. Activate your Top Hat course to make it available to students. See the Activate Your Top Hat Course page within this instructional guide for more information.
     
  2. Click on Course Settings in the main Top Hat menu. Under General Settings set the value of Course Availability to Private. 

Using Student View

Student View allows instructors to view a presentation from the student perspective without needing to have a separate set of login credentials or use multiple browsers. 

  1. Navigate to your course and choose a presentation. Click the Present or Present Slides button. 
     

    Present Button To Student View

  2. Then click Student View on the presentation screen.

    Join Code Student View Page

  3. A new Student View tab will open. This can be differentiated from the Instructor View by the purple Student View banner that reads, "You are viewing the course as a student." You will need to return to your original Top Hat instructor tab to begin your presentation. 

    Student View Intro
  4. As you move through slides or questions from your Top Hat instructor tab, you will be able to view them as a student would in the Student View tab.
  5. You may also start an attendance session and view it as a student.  

  6. To end a presentation and exit Student View, simply end the presentation from the instructor tab and then close the Student View tab, or click Exit Student View to return to the instructor tab. 

    Exit Student View


 

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