Strategic Top Hat Integration in Technology Classes

Amy Garbrick

Director of Learning Design and Adjunct Professor

College of Information Sciences and Technology

As the Director of Learning Design in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) at University Park, Amy was no stranger to the potential of innovative tools to enhance learning experiences. She collaborated with faculty members who were early adopters of Top Hat to deepen her familiarity with the platform. Leveraging her expertise in learning design, Amy skillfully employs Top Hat in her pedagogical approach, including large general education courses, such as IST 110 Introduction to Information, People and Technology, and small first-year seminars. 

Top Hat Implementation 

Inclusive Learning Environment: Amy uses the anonymous response feature of Top Hat to foster a classroom culture where every voice is heard. Recognizing the diverse comfort levels among students in public participation, she uses this tool to encourage more students to share their insights and questions. Amy emphasizes the importance of inclusivity in education. The implementation of anonymous discussions in Top Hat ensures that students, regardless of their introversion or anxiety about speaking in front of a large group, share their ideas and enhance their learning skills. 

Engaging and Interactive Content: For her classes, Amy utilizes a wide range of question formats provided by Top Hat to increase student engagement and assess their understanding of the learning materials. The question types include multiple-choice questions, click-on-target questions, matching questions, and word-answer questions. Amy uses the different question types to facilitate real-time polling and assessment. From a learning design perspective, the wide variety of question formats also helps keep students engaged in Amy’s class. 

Impact and Outcomes 

When delivering instruction, Amy notices that there is a difference in the level of engagement between students in smaller classes, typically around 25 students, and in larger classes of more than 100 students. It may be hard to get every student engaged in larger classes, such as gen eds. By incorporating Top Hat, Amy notices increased engagement and participation from students. Top Hat’s interactive features enable students to engage with the material and each other. At the end of the semester, Amy also gathers feedback from her students through evaluation surveys. Many students provide positive feedback on the interactivity of Top Hat and express their appreciation for the more inclusive learning experience. 

Best Practices 

Gradual Integration: Amy emphasizes starting simple, advising faculty to first utilize Top Hat for attendance to gain comfort and familiarity with the platform. Then, faculty can expand to other features such as PowerPoint slide integration. Amy suggests gradually incorporating more tools, like interactive questions and discussions, as familiarity grows. She also highlights the learning curve associated with new technologies but stresses the benefits of perseverance. This way, faculty can successfully enhance engagement and interaction in classrooms. This approach ensures not only the instructors, but also the students, adapt smoothly to new technology. 

Feedback and Improvement: Amy also advocates the value of leveraging student feedback to refine and enhance the use of Top Hat in the classroom. She recommends conducting a week 3 or 4 survey and an end-of-semester survey to gather students’ feedback on the effectiveness of Top Hat and areas for improvement. This practice promotes both student-centered and adaptive learning environment. By analyzing the direct feedback from students, faculty can foster a more responsive and engaging educational experience.