What Is Asynchronous Polling in Top Hat?

Asynchronous polling in Top Hat is accomplished by assigning polling questions, discussions, or other interactive content with defined Start and Due dates so students can complete them independently.

This approach is ideal for pre-class preparation, formative assessment, review activities, or low-stakes knowledge checks. Asynchronous polls can also be assigned to students who miss class as a chance to participate. 

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Key Features of Asynchronous Polling in Top Hat

• Flexible Question Types: Top Hat offers more than 14 question types, including multiple choice, numeric answer, matching, click‑on‑target, sorting, word answer, and more. These allow for varied forms of assessment even when students complete the activity asynchronously.
• Device Flexibility: Students respond using any web-enabled device—laptop, tablet, or mobile phone.
• Assigning Asynchronous Activities: You can assign content by selecting Assign → Start/Due dates, creating homework-style activities. Students will see these tasks marked appropriately in their Assigned tab in Top Hat.
• Grading and Feedback: Top Hat automatically gathers responses, provides auto‑grading where applicable, and syncs results with Canvas.
• Anonymous or Identified Participation: Depending on your assignment settings, questions may be taken for points or completed anonymously.

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How to Set Up Asynchronous Polling in Top Hat (Step‑by‑Step)

Step 1: Create questions

1. Open your TopHat course
2. On the left-side All Content side bar, select Add.
3. Select Question. Select the desired question type. 
4. Fill in your question text, answer options, and grading preferences. 

Step 2: Add questions to a content item

Questions may be added to:

• A standalone question module
• A Top Hat Page (interactive content with embedded questions)
• A slide deck or other course materials

Step 3: Assign the activity asynchronously

1. Navigate to the content item.
2. Click Assign.
3. Set Start and Due dates. Students will be able to access the item during these dates.
4. If needed, assign different dates for subgroups of students.

Step 4: Monitor progress

Use Top Hat’s analytics tools to review which students have completed the assigned polls and evaluate response data.

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Instructional Use Cases for Asynchronous Polling

• Pre‑Class Preparation: Assign short polls to check student understanding before the lecture begins, improving readiness and informing your in‑class activities.
• Homework or Review: Top Hat allows graded questions to be assigned as Homework and ungraded questions as Review, ideal for self‑paced engagement.
• Flipped or Hybrid Learning: Asynchronous polls help support flipped classroom design by encouraging students to engage with materials before class meetings.
• Low‑Stakes, Frequent Assessment: Students can complete polls at their convenience while you gather continuous insights into comprehension.

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Guidance for Instructors Transitioning from iClicker to Top Hat

If you have previously used iClicker Assignments or self‑paced quizzes, here are recommendations to ease your transition into Top Hat’s asynchronous polling system:

• Use the Dedicated Migration Services: Our contract with Top Hat includes dedicated migration services. This means Top Hat will work with each instructor to help move content from iClicker into Top Hat. For more information on Top Hat Migration services please reach out to instruct@umass.edu.
• Map Your Existing Workflows
  • iClicker Assignments → Top Hat Assignments (Homework or Review)
    • Assign Start and Due dates as you would in iClicker.
  • iClicker Self‑paced quizzes → Top Hat Question sets or Pages with embedded questions.
• Rebuild or Convert Question Types: Top Hat supports many more question types than iClicker, so consider enhancing your existing questions—for example, converting multiple choice recall checks into more interactive formats like matching or click‑on‑target.
• Use Top Hat Pages for Richer Asynchronous Activities: If you previously shared static quiz content via iClicker, Top Hat Pages allow you to integrate readings, images, videos, and embedded polls to create more engaging asynchronous learning activities.
• Explore Analytics for Deeper Insights: Top Hat provides real‑time and post‑assignment analytics to help you understand student performance and adjust teaching accordingly.