Effective Use of Top Hat in Technology Education

Erica Fleming

Assistant Director of Teaching and Learning

College of Information Sciences and Technology

Erica first started using Top Hat after having initially tried another tool for her class. She was already familiar with Top Hat, from when she was a part of Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT) and worked with faculty members who used Top Hat. Despite this familiarity, she didn’t extensively experiment with Top Hat herself until she decided to incorporate it into her class to enhance student engagement. Currently, Erica uses Top Hat in two of her in-person classes: IST 130 – Emerging Technologies in Popular Culture and IST 389 – Leadership and Technology for Instruction. 

Top Hat Implementation 

IST 130 – Emerging Technologies in Popular Culture: IST 130 is a large, three-credit class with about 330 students. In this class, Erica uses Top Hat extensively for all presentations and interactive quizzes. Top Hat is also used to track attendance and enhance student engagement through various interactive questions. Erica uses a range of tools like multiple-choice questions, word answer questions (word cloud), and click-on-target questions (heat maps) to make the class engaging. The discussion feature, monitored by learning assistants, is also uniquely adapted to manage the dynamics of such a large class, enabling student participation. 

IST 389 – Leadership and Technology for Instruction: Erica also teaches IST 389, a one-credit, seven-week class designed to train undergraduate learning assistants in pedagogy for STEM students. The course consists of three sections totaling about 60 students. While two sections of the course are conducted in person, there is also an asynchronous section. In the in-person sections, Erica uses Top Hat for interactive activities and student engagement.  

Inclusive Participation: Erica uses the anonymous response feature in Top Hat, which shifts away from traditional hand-raising, encouraging more students to participate, especially those who may feel anxious or introverted. Erica finds this approach to be particularly effective in facilitating inclusive discussions, allowing students to express their opinions without the fear of being judged. 

Diverse Question Formats: During her classes, Erica uses a variety of question formats to increase engagement and interaction. Erica frequently uses multiple-choice questions and discussion prompts for polling and assessing understanding in her classes. Additionally, she includes word answer questions, where students’ responses contribute to creating engaging word clouds. To make lectures more interactive and visually appealing, she also uses click-on-target questions that can generate heat maps, providing a fun and engaging way for students to visualize class responses. 

Impact and Outcomes 

Erica notices a significant impact on student participation in her classes after implementing Top Hat. Before using Top Hat, she observed that typically only two or three students would answer each question she posed in class. However, with the introduction of Top Hat, where students have the option to either raise their hand or answer anonymously through the platform, she sees a dramatic increase in participation. Erica also notes that about 90% of her students began answering every single question she asks during class. This change highlights how the anonymous response mechanism and the interactive format of Top Hat significantly boosted student involvement and engagement in her classes. 

Best Practices 

Gradual Adoption: Erica advises faculty members to begin with just one feature of Top Hat at a time. This approach helps users gradually understanding the platform without feeling overwhelmed. Erica suggests starting slowly and not feeling pressured to use all the features at once. By learning one feature at a time, faculty can effectively integrate Top Hat into their teaching practices and make the most of the platform.  

Collaboration and Resource Sharing: Erica often likes to discuss with her colleague Amy Garbrick how Top Hat is used within the Information Sciences and Technology (IST) department. They focus on sharing their experiences and practices with other faculty members, promoting a collaborative learning environment. Erica recommends that faculty work closely with learning designers and Top Hat representatives to find the best ways to integrate the platform into their courses. By collaborating and sharing resources, faculty can tailor the use of Top Hat to their specific teaching needs.