Top Hat

TopHat Integration with Quercus

BEFORE you make arrangements with TopHat to use their solution in your course, please contact your divisional educational technology support team, the U of T Bookstore, and U of T Libraries to ensure that this solution will work in your course. Our goal is to make sure you have the best teaching experience possible, and your students have the best learning experience possible.

As you may be aware, in late 2018, the University came to an agreement with TopHat that would allow for a direct integration between Quercus and the TopHat Classroom Response solution. Due to technical issues, the process to connect the two systems took longer than expected but is now complete.

The main benefit of the direct integration is the automatic set-up and synchronization of course enrolment information, and where an instructor is using the TopHat Classroom Response for any kind of formative assessments, the passing of grade information back to the Quercus gradebook (the system is not recommended for summative assessments).

Moving forward, instructors who wish to enable the direct integration of the Classroom Response system can submit a written request to their divisional educational technology support team to begin the process.

Divisional educational technologists will be assessing the request for feasibility. For example, some classrooms on some campuses may not be able to handle the number of concurrent network connections needed for the TopHat Classroom Response system to work. In some cases, grades sent from the TopHat Classroom Response system to the Quercus Gradebook in large classes is not guaranteed.

Instructors should also note that students who purchase TopHat access via the U of T Bookstore will receive a discount over buying it directly from the TopHat website. Divisional educational technology staff will be asking prospective instructors if they have made contact with the Bookstore to notify them of the pending use of the TopHat Classroom Response system, to ensure the Bookstore has enough access codes available for students to purchase at the discounted price. Instructors can contact the Bookstore directly at textinfo@uoftbookstore.com.

We are aware that TopHat also sells and promotes other services directly to instructors, including etext and content publishing, online proctoring, and video-conferencing. These additional services are not supported at the University of Toronto. Only the TopHat Classroom Response system is supported by U of T under its agreement with TopHat.

In particular, we are aware that some instructors have been using TopHat to publish course materials. Under the terms of the agreement, TopHat should be used primarily as a classroom response and engagement tool. Course materials should be made available directly from Quercus as much as possible. In some cases, students may inadvertently be charged for some materials which have already been licensed by the Library. Divisional educational technologists will be asking prospective instructors about how they plan to make course materials available to students and will direct instructors to Library staff for assistance.

For more information on how the Library can help you, please visit the UTL website.