Top Hat
Top Hat coming to Penn State campuses to help faculty increase course engagement
Top Hat is partnering with Penn State’s Abington, Lehigh Valley and Scranton campuses to offer a series of workshops Feb. 11-13 designed to help faculty get the most out of Top Hat, an engagement platform that has tools for educators and institutions to deliver...
Features
Beyond a typical student response system, the Top Hat engagement platform offers tools to make class time interactive. Personalize content from the Top Hat Catalog, create assessments or homework assignments, and access actionable insights which can identify struggling students or difficult concepts. Use Top Hat as part of your Canvas course, or as a stand-alone tool.
Top Hat extends and enhances the classroom experience with its various features. Pick and choose the ones that you need. Students can take advantage of discounted textbooks which are offered through the platform. Support is available either directly from a Top Hat agent or an extensive list of knowledge articles. You can also take advantage of the self-guided or individualized training opportunities.
Student Response & Assessment
Discussions
Polls & Quizzes
Assignments & Exams
Automatic Attendance
Customizable Content
Pages Content Editor
Customizable Textbooks
Interactive Labs
Educator Tools & Insights
Real-Time Data
Accessibility
LMS Integration
Resources
Faculty Use Cases
IT Learning & Development’s comprehensive resource for Penn State instructors and instructional designers to explore and understand how Top Hat can enhance your teaching methods and student engagement. Discover practical insights, tips, and examples from fellow Penn State faculty about incorporating Top Hat into your classroom.
Discounted Textbooks
Top Hat offers textbooks at discounted rates for students. Due to Penn State’s contractual agreement with Barnes & Noble, these Top Hat textbooks must still be ordered through the Penn State University Bookstore’s Barnes & Noble Adoption & Insights Portal (AIP). Complete instructions can be found in the IT knowledge ​base​.
Support & Knowledge
Support Contact Information
For questions about Top Hat (e.g. functionality, installation, etc.), please contact Top Hat. Support is provided by the Vendor, not the Penn State IT Service Desk:
- In-app Live chat: Find it next to your name, in the top right corner of your screen
- Phone: 1-888-663-5491 (Monday to Friday 9 AM–9 PM ET)
- Email: support@tophat.com
- Support Center: https://support.tophat.com/s/contactsupport
For Penn State related support (e.g. WebAccess ID or passwords, email questions, etc.), log in and authenticate to contact the Penn State IT Service Desk.
Service Status
Knowledge Base
Penn State Articles
Top Hat Articles
Getting started for instructors
Training
Penn State ITLD
Penn State IT Learning & Development offers training to the Penn State community for Top Hat and a wide variety of technology tools. Both self-paced and instructor-led sessions are available at no cost. Additionally, Tech Tutors provides personalized consultations by appointment.
From Top Hat
Top Hat Platform Training is a series of webinars that can be attended live (on Zoom) or watched on-demand (recorded).