ACTIVE Education (ACTIVE Net) vs. Top Hat

Really like the appearance of reporting and the web booking.

Incentivized

Top Hat is well suited for courses where students are comfortable with utilizing online learning management system as part of their course contents. It is more appropriate to use Top Hat as a stand-alone learning management system or if the school happens to have it integrated to the system. It is not recommended to use Top Hat and another platform or system for students as this would be too much for students.

Incentivized

• Separation of payer and the person attending the activity. For example: children incur charges, but the parent is responsible for paying them.
• Fast - in our old system there was a delay while customers waited for the system to respond.

Incentivized

• I use Top Hat as a discussion tool where the students can write what they have learned or what they haven't.
• Exams are taken in class and are totally paperless with grades available immediately.

Incentivized

• I really like the look and feel of ActiveNet Reporting, but it isn't extremely customizable. Maybe there is something I am missing, but other employees have shared that same feedback.
• It would be nice to have the system synchronize with other software we use. (EMS, StarRez, etc.) When planning conferences, we currently have hotel guests and registration that we would like to share information for through each system. Currently it is just double data entry.
• Would like to be able to add more resources and details to a room booking and have the corresponding departments be notified of the order/track inventory.

Incentivized

• If students are paying, it's a confusing onboarding process for students and instructors and could be better streamlined.
• The Android app not as well polished as iOS.
• A better, free, or ad-supported model might be more palpable to students.
• Integration directly with PowerPoint -- not requiring instructors to upload their slides to Top Hat.

Incentivized

They are very helpful and fast to resolve any issues

Incentivized

ACTIVE Network allowed: grouping of classes, good interface, allowed importing of records, complex payment plans, per class fee structures, user fees, and trial classes.

Incentivized

Top Hat generally stacks up pretty well against other industry leading or popular learning management systems. Top Hat is comparable to learning management systems used in most educational institutions. The features such as allowing the educator to create an interactive experience by leveraging tools such as quizzes and polls is comparable. Data on student performance is also a helpful feature that is comparable to that of other similar learning management systems.

Incentivized

• Not sure yet.
• It is newer to me and my department.
• Double data entry which is just extra man hours.

Incentivized

• One of the better ways to track attendance in a mostly secure and automated way.
• Promotes more active learning, especially in large classrooms.
• Unpopular if students have to pay.

Incentivized