Using Top Hat to Report Results from Group Activities

Using Top Hat to report results from group activities.

Instructional Challenge

In many of the active learning activities identified, there is a need for instructors to find ways for students to report the results of work they have done in groups. This document walks instructors through the process of setting up and using Top Hat to collect and display short text responses (up to 100 words) to work done in groups.

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Setting Up Instructor's Top Hat Account

Top Hat is a Student Response System (SRS) that allows you to ask questions, take polls, give quizzes, and receive feedback from your students during class. Top Hat is a bring-your-own-device solution, which means that students can use any web-enabled device (laptop, tablets, smartphones) to participate. It also allows for text messaging to submit answers, so students can use older or flip cell phones as well. UW-Madison now has an enterprise license for Top Hat — allowing all UW-Madison instructors and students to use the tool without paying for a subscription. Follow the links below to set up your Top Hat account and connect your courses to the Top Hat system.

  1. Top Hat - Account Setup (Instructors) (UW-Madison)
  2. Top Hat - Syncing Grades and Rosters with Canvas (LTI 1.3)

Creating a Top Hat Question

  1. In your Canvas course, select Top Hat from the navigation bar. You will be brought to your Top Hat course space.
  2. Select the Create button to create a new question. The following are the available question types (for a full description visit the Top Hat Support Site): multiple-choice, word answers, numeric answers, fill in the blank, matching, click on target, sorting, or long answer.
    1. Select Discussion question type.
    2. Fill in the question details. 
      1. Title: Describes the activity (ex., Group Activity Response)
      2. Topic: Topic of the activity (ex., Buzz Group Activity)
      3. Response Options: Determine who can see the responses and whether the results will be anonymous or not.
    3. Select Save.

Setting Up Students in Top Hat

UW-Madison has procured an enterprise license for Top Hat. The new license allows all UW-Madison instructors and students to use the tool without paying for a subscription. Students should use their UW-Madison credentials to log on to Top Hat. Before students use Top Hat, they should make sure their account is set up properly. Send students to the following site for directions on setting up their account:

Starting the Response Session

  1. Direct students to either use their laptops or mobile phones to interact with the discussion question. In your Canvas course, have students select Top Hat from the navigation bar. You will be brought to your Top Hat course space.
  2. Select the discussion question(s) you want to present by selecting the square to the left of the questions.
  3. When ready to display the question to students, select the Present button at the top right corner of the screen.
  4. The Join Code screen will appear. Select Start Presentation to release question(s) to students.
  5. The question will appear on the screen. Students will see the question listed under Questions and Attendance. 
  6. You can show the live responses as students answer the question by selecting the Responses button.
  7. Select Close to end the answer submission process.
  8. Select Correct to show the correct answer (if one has been identified).
  9. To end the presentation, use the Esc key on your laptop.

Other Resources

See Also: