Getting Started with TopHat

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Top Hat is a web-based student response system and comprehensive teaching platform that instructors can use to engage students with interactive slides, graded questions, polls, assignments and more. Students can use smartphones, tablets, laptops, and ordinary cell phones to participate. Blackboard integration is available for grade book synchronization.

Instructors:

Instructor accounts are free of charge and allow an unlimited number of courses under our university license agreement. Student accounts are also covered by the university. 

To create your Top Hat account and courses, follow the Instructor Quick Start Guide or the Top Hat Training Videos. The quick start guide also includes instructions on most frequently used features. Top Hat offers easy student roster and grade book synchronization with Blackboard. Check the Blackboard Integration instructions for details.

Students:

There is no charge to students for using Top Hat. Starting Fall of 2020, Valparaiso University provides students with Top Hat licenses.

For instructions on setting up your account and how to use Top Hat, see the Student Quick Start Guide.

To participate in Top Hat activities, you need a mobile device, which can be a web-enabled smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer. If you only have a basic cell phone, or unable to connect to Wi-Fi, you can still submit most types of answers via text message. For details, see Student SMS/Text Message Submissions.

For students who are required to use Proctorio with Top Hat for their exams, you can follow these step-by-step instructions from Top Hat.

Getting Help:

Instructors:

For technical support, contact Top Hat Support.

Students:

Contact your instructor first for questions regarding participation and grading.

For technical support, contact Top Hat Support.

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