What Is Live Polling in Top Hat?

Top Hat’s live polling (also known as synchronous polling, in-class polling, or interactive questions) is real-time questioning conducted during in-person or virtual lectures, allowing instructors to ask questions and students to respond immediately using personal devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets...).

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Key Features of Live Polling in Top Hat

• Real-time Interaction
  • Questions are presented by the instructor and appear immediately on students' screens.
• 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.
• Device Flexibility
  • Students respond using any web-enabled device—laptop, tablet, or mobile phone.
• 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.
• Timed Responses
  • Instructors can set and extend timers for questions, which helps manage classroom pace.

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

Step 1: Upload your powerpoint presentation

Please note that a Powerpoint presentation is not required to create live polling. You can stand-alone add and organize poll questions and discussions.

1. Open your TopHat course
2. On the left-side All Content side bar, select Add.
3. Select Slide Upload.
4. When the upload window appears, drag and drop your Powerpoint presentation to the designated area.

Step 2: Create and add 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 3: Manage your content

On the left-side All Content side bar, you can organize your content in a way that best makes sense with your teaching style.

• Reorder Content: You can move (drag and drop) content if you need to adjust the order.
• Create folders: The All Content bar allows you to group content into folders as needed. For example, each folder can represent a week or a single class session.
• Copy content
• Delete content: Please be aware that once you confirm the delete, this can’t be undone.

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Top Hat Polling Question Types

• Multiple Choice
• Likert Scale
• Numeric Answer
• Word Answer
• Fill in the Blank
• File Submission
• Matching
• Click on Target
• Sorting
• Long Answer
• and more...

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How to Present Polling in Top Hat (Step‑by‑Step)

Step 1: Select content to present

1. Open your TopHat course
2. On the left-side All Content side bar, select the content you want to present.
   • If you select a single question, only that question will be presented.
   • If you select a folder, all the content except Powerpoint slides will be presented.
   • If you select a Powerpoint deck, all the slides and questions among the slides will be presented
3. Select the Present button on the top right corner of the Top Hat window.
4. A window which contains the Top Hat app URL and QR code will appear.
5. On the right side of the window, You will have the option to pick either taking attendance or start the presentation.

Step 2: Start presentation

1. Following the steps above, select the Start Presentation button, the first slide or question will appear.
2. There are navigation buttons at the bottom of the window, for example, you can move between slides or annotate on the slide presentation. 

Step 3: Start live polling 

As you step through the presentation, questions will appear in their proper place and order among the Powerpoint slides.

1. When you come across a question, you will have the option to Skip the question. If you press the Skip button, the presentation will move to the next slide or question in the order.
2. Polling Questions will have the green Start ANSWERING button, select the button to display the question on students' devices' screen and start collecting answers. 
3. You can Pause the polling then End polling as you desire. At the bottom of the question screen, you will see how many students (out of the total number of students) have answered. 
4. Once the question is closed, you can present the aggregated responses, then present the correct answer. Once the question and answers are discussed, there is an icon to take you to the next slide or question.

Step 4: End the presentation

You can end the presentation by pressing Esc on your keyboard when the presentation window is active. Or, when mousing over the presentation, you can select the X End (ESC) button at the top left of the window.