McGraw-Hill Connect vs. Top Hat

Content is pretty good, and site is good as standalone tool, but it does not integrate will with any LMS. Grade pass back does not work with Google Classroom or Skyward (unsure about Power School or others) SSO works with Clever, but not Google, so students always have to go through Clever and cannot go directly from Google Classroom to an assignment, even if you posted to Google Classroom through the Connect portal. Problem sets are robust, but difficult to edit and assessments are designed to be web based. Formatting is poor when trying to print assessments that were created online.

Incentivized

I think Top Hat can be used in any classroom size to help student learning. it is user-friendly for both students and teachers.

Incentivized

• Integration with Canvas is seamless and easy to use.
• Assignment completion, for students, is straightforward and easy to use.
• The SmartBook allows students to read as they are tested with questions and this helps them learn the material easily without having first trying to read, memorize a chapter and then answer questions.

Incentivized

• Offers a good variety of interactive tools such as polls and quizzes
• It is relatively easy to create and customize pages on the class site
• Educators have access to good analytics and insightful performance information

Incentivized

• McGraw-Hill Connect could do a better job of staying current and making sure all of its videos and references to real-scenarios are up to date.
• It can do a better job of immediate explanation or advice when an answer is incorrect.
• It can improve upon its ability to autosave assignments. If an internet connection gets buggy and kicks the user out of the system, sometimes the assignment progress will be lost. This is because to save the assignment, it takes you out of the assignment and doesn't just autosave.

Incentivized

• It would be great if the exams could have settings to set-up start and finish times.
• The grade book still needs improvement in the formatting.

Incentivized

The product will do a majority of what they claim. Your experience will vary depending on how much you love or hate the implementation. The tools are there, but there is a learning curve as people get accommodated to how interaction is expected to be conducted (as opposed to more personal means).

Incentivized

Personally, I did not encounter McGraw-Hill support. However, I worked with colleagues who needed support and were able to receive in a timely manner. Overall, McGraw Hill Connect is user-friendly (at least from teacher interface) and easy to navigate, which minimizes the need to reach out for support. The help button is useful and provides plenty of immediate support.

Incentivized

The initial rollout of Top Hat was not without its issues. Top Hat was very responsive, and even sent representatives to be onsite during the first couple of days of the start of class to help instructors and students. They were very knowledgeable about the product, but the sales team was pushy at times. At several times, we had to inform them not to reach out to instructors directly to pitch their service while we were still piloting.

Incentivized

Much of our lecture material comes from McGraw-Hill, so it was an opportunity to marry the learning material to a collaborative system that can make the experience more portable and potentially more affordable for our students. The workings are managed off-site so we do not need to care for it on a daily basis.

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

• Wasted valuable time trying to figure out the "eBook."
• Did not receive good value for the money spent.
• Did not feel as though the company was interested in keeping me satisfied as a customer, or like their customer service was actually interested in solving any problems.

• 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