BYU-Idaho Online Knowledgebase

Top Hat

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This article's aim is to instruct course designers and professors on how to use Top Hat resources in their course.

Set Up in Canvas

To add Top Hat to your course, click on the Modules tab in Canvas.

Click on the "+" symbol in the module where you would like to add the link to the Top Hat content.

Select "External Tool" from the list of Add options then scroll down and click on "Top Hat" from the list of tools.

Scroll down to the bottom and check the option to load the tool in a new tab. Here you can also change the page name if desired. When you are done click the Add Item button.

You will be returned to your modules page in Canvas. Click on the item you just created.

Upon clicking, you may be asked to create a profile and a course for Top Hat. Follow the on-screen instructions to do this. Once completed, you should arrive at the homepage of your Top Hat course.

Top Hat Features

There are four tabs within Top Hat that contain features you can use for your course.

They are:

  1. Content
  2. Gradebook
  3. Students
  4. Marketplace

Content

Access the content page by clicking the Content tab in the navigation bar.

On this page you can see all of the content created for the course as well as add new content.

To create content, click on the Create button.

A list will appear with all of the content you can create and the actions you can do.

Here is a list of the content you can create and actions available for your course. Click on the one you wish to learn more about.

Question                     Take Attendance                 Pages                     Top Hat Test

Discussion                   Upload Slides

Upload file                  Whiteboard Sketch

Folder                          Tournament (Beta)

Question

Question allows you to create a question for your class to answer. To create a question, click Question from the Create menu.

Select the type of question you wish to create. In this case, we will create a multiple choice question.

Complete the following:

  1. Give the question a title.
  2. Type in the question.
  3. Type answers to the questions.
  4. Check the correct answer box next to the answer that is correct.

Below the question and answers, there are different options that you can turn on or modify. Feel free to add or tweak these however you wish.

Click Save at the bottom of the page when you are done editing the question. The question will be added to your content page.

Discussion

A discussion allow the class to discuss about a certain topic. To create a discussion, click Discussion from the Create menu.

Complete the following:

  1. Give the discussion a title.
  2. Give the discussion a topic.

Feel free to modify the other options as you wish.

When you are done editing the question click the Save button. The discussion will be added to your content page.

Upload file

Upload file allows the class to discuss about a certain topic. To upload a file, click Upload file from the Create menu.

Do one of the following:

  • Drag your files and drop them on the page.

OR

  • Browse your computer and upload them.

Click the Done button when you are done uploading your file(s).

Folder

Upload file allows the class to discuss about a certain topic. To upload a file, click Upload file from the Create menu.

Do the following:

  1. Name the folder.

Click the Create Folder button when done.

The folder will be added to your content page.

Take Attendance

The Take Attendance option allows the instructor to take classroom attendance. To take attendance, click the Take Attendance option.

You will be presented with a screen that has an attendance code. Students who are in attendance are to access Top Hat on their device and input the attendance code to verify that they were present for class. Students also have the option to send a message to a number containing the code with their phone.

When you are done taking attendance, click Finish.

Upload Slides

The Upload Slides option allows you to upload a PowerPoint to you Content page. To upload a PowerPoint presentation, click the Upload Slides option.

Do one of the following:

  • Drag and drop the presentation to the page.

OR

  • Browse your computer for the presentation and upload it.

Click Done.

The presentation will appear in your content page with each slide listed below it.

Whiteboard Sketch

The Whiteboard Sketch option allows you to create a slide that you can draw on in a presentation. Click on the presentation you want to add the whiteboard slide to so the blue bar highlights the presentation then click Content  then choose the Whiteboard Sketch option.

The whiteboard slide will appear along with the other slides in the presentation on the Content page. When this slide appears in a presentation, you may draw on it using your mouse.

Tournament (Beta)

As the Tournament option is in beta and is not a fully accepted and working feature of Top Hat, instructions on this feature will be delayed until a later date.

Pages

Pages allows you to create documents for your course, similar to a Word document. To create a page choose the Pages option.

You will be taken to a page where you are allowed to add a title to your page and add some text to the page.

You'll notice that there is a "+" symbol that acts as a insert button. It appears next to an item depending on where your mouse is pointing. If you click it, you can do the following actions:

  • Add a question.
  • Import items.
  • Add a video.
  • Add a picture.
  • Add a discussion.
  • Add a table.
  • Add an iframe.

Feel free to use any of these items on your page by selecting the item you wish to add.

When you are done editing the page, click the Save button located at the top right of the page.

Top Hat Test

Top Hat Test allows you to create a tests for the students which are the proctored in a secure environment that checks for cheating behaviors. Enabling this feature will cost each student an additional $10. If you wish to enable this feature, click the Yes, Enable Test button.

Assign

The Assign button is located at the top right of the page.

Assign is used to:

  • Assign items as homework to the class.
  • Mark items to be reviewed by the class.
  • Custom assign an item to be be homework or to be reviewed at a specified date.

To assign homework, mark an item as review, or a to custom assign, click on the assignment then click the Assign button.

The assigned item will appear on the student's devices when they next log in. They will be able to view and complete the assignment and review.

With the custom assign item, you will be asked to specify which students and when you want the item to be assigned. Specify who and when then click the Assign button.

Present

The Present button is located at the top right of the page. Present is used to present the items on your content page to the class almost as if it was a PowerPoint.

To start presenting, highlight on your content page where you would like the presentation to start then click the Present button.

A screen will pop up with a join code. For those who are present, they will enter the code on their devices so they can be involved with the presentation.

Once everyone present has joined the presentation, click the Start Presentation button.

Your presentation will then begin. Use the controls at the bottom of the screen to navigate through the presentation.

Editing Content

If you need to change information or add content to an item, you can do this by editing the items on your content page.

To edit content that you have added or created:

  1. Highlight the item by clicking on it.
  2. Click the show preview button.
  3. Click the Edit button.

NOTE: If you have assigned an item as homework or review, you will need to unassign the item first before you are able to edit it. You can unassign the item by clicking the Unassign button.

Gradebook

The gradebook tab contains information on the scores for each student on assignments, their attendance, and their name and email.

To access the gradebook, click Gradebook from the navigation bar.

You will be presented with a warning page saying you are about to access student grades and information. If you do not wish to show this information to the students, make sure your screen is not visible, then click Yes, show grades or you can return to the content page by clicking No, get me out of here!

Searching

You can search for gradebook information by questions, students, or by attendance. The results for the search will appear below the search bar.

Sync Grades with Canvas

Top Hat allow the capability of syncing assignment grades from Top Hat to your Canvas course. After syncing, all new assignments will be added and assignments already in Canvas will be updated if there are any changes.

To sync your Top Hat course with your Canvas course, click LMS Sync located at the top right of the Gradebook page.

You will be redirected to the course settings page in Top Hat.

To begin the syncing process, click the Enable LMS Sync button.

Click Authorize Top Hat with your LMS.

Click Authorize.

Select the Canvas course you want Top Hat to sync to and click the Connect button.

Once you have finished syncing, you will be presented with this page.

Click Go to Student Manager if you wish to view the students in your course, otherwise, you can return to the gradebook by clicking Gradebook in the navigation bar.

Students

The student's tab contains a list of the students that have been invited and/or participated in the Top Hat course. This page also contains the email address for each student.

To access the student page click on Student from the navigation bar.

You can manage student's on this page by adding new students or removing students.

Adding Students

To add a student to your Top Hat course, click on the Add Students button located at the top right of the page.

Enter the emails of those you wish to add to your course then click the Add Students button at the bottom.

Removing Students

To remove a student from your course, first check the box next to the student's name.

Once you have selected all of the students that you are wanting to remove from the course, click the Remove button located at the top right of the page.

You will be presented with a warning notification. Click Yes, remove students if you are sure that you want to remove the student from the course.

Marketplace

The marketplace is where you are able to gain access to textbooks and other resources through the means of a purchase. If you decide to add a textbook, all students in the course will be required to pay the specified amount before gaining access.

To access the marketplace, click the Marketplace tab from the navigation bar.

Up clicking, you may be required to request access to the marketplace. To request access, click the Request Access button.

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