News Archives | Top Hat

Top Hat Acquires STEM Ed Tech Startup Aktiv Learning

Harleen Dhami — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 13:12:44 +0000

Top Hat has entered into an agreement to acquire STEM education startup Aktiv Learning. Already in use by more than 700 institutions, Aktiv enables students to experience, interact with, and master even the most challenging math and chemistry concepts using their mobile devices. Our combined capabilities will help more students fulfill their dreams of becoming tomorrow’s engineers, scientists and healthcare professionals.

Read the full article in Betakit.

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Why Student Success Depends on Continuous Feedback

Daman Lamba — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 16:52:00 +0000

Educators have long relied on high-stakes assessments to measure progress and provide feedback to students. But this often comes too little, too late. It also misses opportunities to help students reflect on and learn from their mistakes. In this Harvard Business Review article, Joe Rohrlich, CEO of Top Hat, and Demian Hommel, Senior Instructor at Oregon State University, discuss how instructors can collect and act on real-time data to enhance student learning, in the moment and over time.

Read the full article in the Harvard Business Review.

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Aspiring to Create Learning Experiences Students Remember

Daman Lamba — Wed, 25 May 2022 17:03:00 +0000

In recent months, higher education has reported “stunning” levels of disengagement. Demian Hommel, Senior Instructor of Geography at Oregon State University, believes we need to think more creatively and systematically about how we approach the classroom to draw students back in. Hommel shares his journey with experiential learning and the role of Top Hat in helping students regain a sense of purpose and accountability in their pursuit of higher learning.

Read the full article in Faculty Focus.

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Create Meaningful Learning Experiences with an Interactive Customizable Textbook

Daman Lamba — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 16:50:00 +0000

As a one-way delivery system, traditional print textbooks just aren’t enough to keep students engaged in the learning process. Stephen Buckles, Principal Senior Lecturer of Economics at Vanderbilt University and author of three interactive digital Hat textbooks, shares how he is changing the status quo by making learning more timely, interactive and relevant to students. Buckles credits Top Hat for making it easy for professors to update data and case studies without having to wait for a new print edition to release.

Read the full article in Faculty Focus.

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Setting the Table for Student Success in Another Year of Uncertainty and Opportunity

Alison Fleming — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 13:00:00 +0000

Click here to download a PDF version of the slideshow.

Resources:
Fall 2021 Student Survey: Uncertainty and Opportunity in Higher Ed

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Undergraduates Need Extra Support This Year—Here’s How to Help

Daman Lamba — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:46:00 +0000

Today, educators must meet students’ psychological needs for safety and belonging before prioritizing academic excellence. Laura Freberg, Professor of Psychology at California Polytechnic State University and Nina Bilimoria Angelo, former Vice President of Product Marketing at Top Hat, share how to show students you care in the semester ahead. Put to practice, this means embracing active and collaborative learning, featuring diverse voices in your course materials, and employing empathetic assessment approaches including open-book exams, among other tactics.

Read the full article in the Harvard Business Review.

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The Tech Promising To Bring Lectures Alive

Daman Lamba — Fri, 28 May 2021 20:25:00 +0000

The lurch into virtual learning has been jarring for both students and educators. Many students struggled to focus and manage their time, while educators tried to fill in communication gaps with their students and adapt to new software. As we look ahead to the fall academic term, we expect many colleges will be embracing a hybrid format of online and in-classroom teaching. Top Hat aims to lead that transformation to enable educators to easily and effectively engage and motivate students in any teaching scenario.

Read the full article in BBC News.

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Lessons From a Year of Pandemic Learning

Daman Lamba — Wed, 19 May 2021 20:20:00 +0000

In Top Hat’s student survey of more than 3,000 higher education students, less than one in five students said they do not feel the learning experience has been worth the cost of tuition. Additionally, while students are looking forward to a return to the physical classroom, most want to see elements of online learning continue.

The recent survey aims to determine student sentiments about the learning experience a year into the COVID-19 pandemic: what worked, what hasn’t and how the past year has shaped student expectations once it is safe to return to campus.

Read the full article in eCampus News.

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Lessons for Planning Higher Ed’s Next Normal

Alison Fleming — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 23:22:46 +0000

Resources:

Report: Top Hat Field Report: 3,052 College Students on the Good, the Bad and Learning Post-Covid

Press release: Lessons From a Year of Pandemic Learning: Survey of 3,052 Higher Ed Students Reveals Their Expectations for Instruction and Educational Value in the Fall 2021 Academic Term

Read Top Hat’s The New Higher Ed Value Equation to learn about the Hierarchy of Student Needs — a fundamental set of needs that must be met to help students thrive — and how to deliver tangible and perceived value on their higher ed investment

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Hanging Up the Hat: Why Top Hat’s Mike Silagadze Is Handing the CEO Job to Someone Else

Daman Lamba — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 20:19:00 +0000

Top Hat founder Mike Silagadze discusses his decision to step down as CEO in this Globe and Mail feature. With the aim of looking out for what was best for the Top Hat’s continued growth, Mike initiated and led the process of finding his successor. Top Hat’s new CEO Joe Rohrlich has a strong track record scaling organizations on an international stage, building great teams, and creating value for customers.

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Understanding Canadian Tech’s Leadership Turnover

Daman Lamba — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:38:00 +0000

Canadian tech leaders are getting sacked left and right. Some are replacing themselves, and some are being replaced. There’s Top Hat’s Mike Silagadze who stepped down as CEO right as the company had a near-majority stake acquired by investor Georgian partners. Then there’s Shopify, where CEO and co-founder Tobi Lütke sacked his CPO to take over product development, promoting COO Harley Finkelstein to President, all during a period of incredible growth.

Now, many of the people mentioned above have held these positions for at least a decade. The simple argument to be made is that their time has come. This podcast investigates why is that time right now? To answer that question, BetaKit invited on the podcast two journalists who have been writing about these companies and their recent changes: The Globe and Mail’s Sean Silcoff, and BetaKit’s very own Associate Editor, Meagan Simpson.

Listen to the episode on BetaKit’s Black Swan podcast.

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Tired of ‘Zoom University’? So is Edtech

Daman Lamba — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 16:37:00 +0000

The rise of “Zoom University” was only possible because edtech wasn’t ready to address the biggest opportunity of the past year: remote learning at scale. Now, nearly a year since students were first sent home because of the coronavirus, a cohort of edtech companies is emerging, emboldened with millions in venture capital, ready to take back the market. This article highlights four of the companies leading in the space, including Top Hat, and notes a shift from startups playing in the supplemental education space and searching to win a spot in the largest chunk of a student’s day: the classroom. While each startup has its own unique strategy and product, the founders behind them all need to answer the same question: Can they make digital learning a preferred mode of pedagogy and comprehension — and not merely a backup — after the pandemic is over?

Read the full article in TechCrunch.

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Building a Virtual Equity-Driven Learning Community

Daman Lamba — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 16:35:00 +0000

In this byline by Lindsay Tan, a Top Hat customer and associate professor at Auburn University, she espouses the virtues of being a values-driven educator. Tan is focused on giving all her students the tools and confidence to succeed on their own terms — and to help create a cohort of professionals who are curious, engaged, and passionate.

When Tan switched to emergency online instruction, she was worried about how to ensure equity in a virtual learning environment. For many students, their top concerns shifted from their assignments and marks to the challenges of everyday life in a global pandemic. Tan shares a number of tips that helped her finish last semester with human connection in mind.

Read the full article in Faculty Focus.

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Digital Courseware Provider Top Hat Gets $130M and a New CEO

Daman Lamba — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:35:00 +0000

Mike Silagadze, who in 2009 co-founded Top Hat, will be stepping away from the role on March 15 after serving as CEO for over a decade. His successor will be Joe Rohrlich, who previously served as chief revenue officer for Bazaarvoice, an e-commerce analytics company. Over his 11 years at Bazaarvoice, Rohrlich helped grow the business to hundreds of millions in annual revenue, a sign that “he can take a company of our size and do the same,” says Silagadze. Concurrent with the leadership change, Top Hat also raised $130 million in a Series E round from Georgian, an existing investor that also co-led its $55 million round announced exactly a year ago.

Read the full article in EdSurge.

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Top Hat Co-Founder To Step Down as CEO as Edtech Company Embarks on Aggressive Growth Plan

Daman Lamba — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:33:00 +0000

Top Hat announced a US $130-million equity investment round, more than doubling the total amount it’s raised since launching in 2009. The funding, all from existing investor Georgian, follows a suite of acquisitions for the Toronto based firm — and caps co-founder Mike Silagadze’s tenure as CEO. That’s where Joe Rohrlich comes in. The new chief executive joins Top Hat from Austin, Texas-based software firm, Bazaarvoice, where, as chief revenue officer, he helped grow the company’s revenue tenfold. “He’s aligned with what we’re trying to do at Top Hat,” said Silagadze, who hand-picked Rohrlich based on his track record of growing a company, as well as his values.

Read the full article in The Logic.

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Georgian Doubles Down on Top Hat with $130 million USD Investment as Company Swaps CEOs

Daman Lamba — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:31:00 +0000

Longtime Top Hat investor Georgian Partners has committed an additional $130 million USD into Top Hat following a year of COVID-fueled changes and industry-disrupting acquisitions, culminating in new leadership. The investment, Georgian’s fourth in Top Hat, represents a continued and increasing commitment to the startup by the firm. The financing comes with news that founding CEO Mike Silagadze will step down from the role in favour of a new ‘top hat’, former Bazaarvoice chief revenue officer, Joe Rohrlich.

Read the full article in BetaKit.

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Toronto Digital Textbook Publisher Top Hat Raises $130-Million From Georgian, Recruits New CEO

Daman Lamba — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 16:30:00 +0000

Top Hat has hired a new CEO and secured a US$130-million investment from its largest shareholder to pursue its strategy to transform the postsecondary textbook trade into a digital industry. The deal will help Top Hat position itself to be a leading disruptor in the education sector as publishers shift away from physical textbooks.

Read the full article in The Globe and Mail.

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The Pandemic Hit Colleges Hard, But Surfaced the Potential of Blended Learning

Daman Lamba — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 16:27:00 +0000

This joint op-ed between Mike Silagadze and Jeff Selingo makes the argument that we need to conceive digital education as complementing a new version of traditional education that better engages students and cultivates the distinctly human qualities of empathy, insight, and experience — all essential elements for success in the modern age. Instead of pitting online learning against face-to-face courses, universities should integrate both in the learning process.

Read the full article in Harvard Business Publishing.

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Is COVID-19 Pushing Higher Ed Over the Technology Tipping Point?

Daman Lamba — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 16:26:00 +0000

In this byline by Top Hat’s own Mike DiGregorio, Senior Manager of Customer Onboarding and Instructional Design, shares the key insights from Top Hat’s most recent survey of 3,000 undergraduates: that students who agreed their instructors promoted active learning and collaboration were more likely to say they saw value in their higher ed investment and to have a better overall opinion of their school. The effect was even more pronounced for faculty who made a concerted effort to create a sense of community in the virtual classroom. Students who agreed that this was the case felt they were learning more effectively online. They were also more likely to stay motivated outside of class and to have a positive opinion of their school and their higher ed investment compared to the average. Mike argues that if there is a silver lining to the pandemic, it is that it has put a premium on the need for quality instruction. It has also shown the current generation of faculty the potential of technology to transform the learning experience, even when campuses eventually reopen.

Read the full article in eLearningInside News.

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Lessons From Top Hat’s Acquisition Spree

Daman Lamba — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 16:25:00 +0000

Top Hat announced that it has acquired yet another business: Fountainhead Press. The acquisition marks Top Hat’s third scoop of a publishing company in the past 12 months as it pursues a digital content strategy designed to improve the traditional educational content industry. Top Hat’s whole business proposition is a subtweet to Zoom University: It wants to make learning an active, online experience and completely digital. That focus has let them reach 3.5 million students and thousands of universities.

Read the full article in TechCrunch.

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