Ithaca College

Top Hat is a student response system (SRS) to enhance instruction and actively engage students in class. With one subscription students can participate in classroom polling, attendance, assignments and complete online tests and quizzes through a secure platform for all courses using the application.  

What is a student response system? 

Sometimes referred to as clickers, classroom response systems, or audience response systems, an SRS allows instructors to pose questions and gather students' responses live in class.  

Why should I use it in class? 

1. Engage students in discussions, feedback and in-class polling.  
2. Collect formative assessment data in real time for on the spot instruction. 
3. Online software that stores session data for later review. 
4. Secure online quizzing and testing platform. 
5. Quickly take attendance and record student participation.  

How does it work? 

Before class the instructor will login to Top Hat and create multiple-choice questions or use the assignment builder to create homework and quizzes with automatic grading options.  

During instruction students will login to their Top Hat account using a personal mobile device (laptop, tablet, or smartphone) and join your Top Hat class.  As the students complete the online questions, session data is recorded and kept online for the instructor to access during or after class.  

What does it cost? 

Students will need to purchase a subscription code to Top Hat through the IC Bookstore. They only need one subscription for all courses using the application. The cost is $24/semester or $41/year. Instructors planning to use Top Hat should contact the IC Bookstore to place an order before sending students to purchase a subscription code.  

How do I get started? 

For more information visit the IT Knowledge Base articles for details to get you started using Top Hat. Follow the steps in the articles to create an account, link Top Hat to your course in Sakai, and build lesson presentations. We will also have a special on-campus training event and we invite you to attend.   

**Join us on Wednesday, September 11, 12:00 – 2:30 PM in the Flexible Learning Lab (Friends 110c) - lunch will be served. More information to come! 

What if I need help? 

The TLT staff is happy to assist you with getting started, the instructional application of Top Hat, technical difficulties, one-on-one training and even help you get your students started the first time you use the new system in class. Please submit a request  to meet 1:1 with one of our TLT team members to learn more about using Top Hat with your courses.