How to Integrate and Utilize Top Hat in Canvas

Integrating Top Hat into your Canvas course transforms your teaching by enabling interactive lectures, engaging student activities, and streamlined administrative functions. The foundational step to "using" Top Hat within Canvas is to properly enable and set it up within your course's navigation.

Enabling Top Hat in Your Canvas Course Navigation

Before you can leverage Top Hat's robust features, you need to make it accessible to both you and your students directly within your Canvas course. This process involves enabling Top Hat from your course's navigation settings.

Step-by-Step Activation Guide:

Access Course Settings: Begin by navigating to your specific Canvas course. On the left-hand course menu, click on Settings. This will take you to the course details page.
Select Navigation Tab: Within the Settings page, click on the Navigation tab. This area allows you to customize which links appear in your course's menu.
Locate Top Hat: Scroll down to the list of navigation items that are currently hidden or disabled. Find Top Hat in this list.
Enable Top Hat: Click on the three-dots icon (often referred to as the options menu) next to Top Hat. From the dropdown menu that appears, select Enable. This action moves Top Hat to the active list of navigation items.
Save Your Changes: It's crucial to scroll to the very bottom of the Navigation page and click the Save button. Failing to do so will revert your changes, and Top Hat will not appear in your course navigation.

Once these steps are completed, Top Hat will appear as a clickable link in your Canvas course's left-hand navigation menu, making it easy for both instructors and students to access Top Hat content. For more detailed information on Canvas settings, you can refer to the Canvas Guides.

What Top Hat Offers Through Canvas Integration

After successfully enabling and linking Top Hat to your Canvas course, you unlock a suite of tools designed to enhance student engagement and streamline course management. This integration allows you to:

Foster Active Learning: Transform passive lectures into interactive sessions with polls, quizzes, and discussions that students can answer in real-time using their own devices.
Manage Attendance Effortlessly: Utilize Top Hat's various attendance features, such as location-based check-ins or unique four-digit codes, to automatically track student presence.
Deliver Dynamic Content: Assign readings, videos, and custom questions directly within Top Hat, providing students with immediate feedback and a structured learning path.
Synchronize Grades: Top Hat can be configured to send grades from quizzes, assignments, and participation directly to your Canvas gradebook, reducing manual data entry.
Streamline Access: Students can click the Top Hat link in Canvas to be automatically logged in and directed to your course's content, creating a seamless user experience.

The integration simplifies the workflow for both instructors and students, centralizing access to course materials and interactive activities within the familiar Canvas environment. You can explore more about Top Hat's features on the Top Hat official website.

Practical Tips for Utilizing Top Hat Effectively

To maximize the benefits of Top Hat within your Canvas course, consider these practical insights:

Communicate Expectations: Inform students early about how Top Hat will be used, its role in their learning, and how it contributes to their grade.
Device Preparedness: Remind students to bring their preferred devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones) to class and ensure they have access to the Top Hat app or website.
Start Simple: Begin with a few interactive questions per lecture to get students accustomed to the platform before integrating more complex activities.
Practice Run: At the start of the semester or a new topic, conduct a low-stakes practice question to help students troubleshoot any technical issues and familiarize themselves with the interface.
Leverage Data: Use the analytics provided by Top Hat to identify areas where students might be struggling, allowing you to tailor your teaching approach.

By following these steps and tips, you can effectively integrate and utilize Top Hat within your Canvas environment to create a more dynamic, engaging, and efficient learning experience.