What Is It?
A Student Response System (SRS) is used in a classroom to rapidly collect answers to questions from every student, and if desired, to graphically display a summary of data. This helps instructors activate the classroom as well as peers to engage with each other while interacting with complex materials.
Top Hat | This system does not require separate hardware; instead, students can use the devices they already have with them in class including a phone, tablet, or laptop. No additional software needs to be installed on the computer to run polling and Top Hat is integrated with Canvas and has the ability to synchronize grades.
What Can I Do with It?
Take Attendance | Top Hat features secure attendance technology that includes location information from students’ phones in recording class attendance data.
Student Engagement | Student response systems can be used to increase student engagement during class, to assess student preparation and learning, and to seek students’ opinions and attitudes.
Peer Instruction | Student response systems have been shown to be especially useful for peer instruction, in which students are presented with a thought-provoking question and allowed to submit an individual answer. After the results are displayed, students discuss their answers and reasoning in pairs or small groups.
Low Stakes Assessments | Student response systems can be associated with an individual student, and therefore can use utilized to administer low-stakes assessments.
Helpful Resources
Getting Started with Top Hat
The Research Behind Top Hat
Top Hat: Teaching Toolkit