My educational technology tool of choice is Top Hat. Top Hat was founded in Waterloo, Ontario, in 2009 by Mike Silagadze and Mohsen Shahini. Top Hat features an interactive college textbook library for students to read on mobile devices, a platform designed for teachers to check attendance, and other products for student engagement, homework, and activities, according to the tool’s introduction. When I use it, the teacher will post the class information on it, and the students can take some small tests in Top Hat. In order to use Top Hat, we need to provide our email address, enter your school information and name. This data will only be visible to our teachers, and Top Hat’s data section will also see this information. No one else can use your information without knowing your account password. Top Hat allows students to see the long class videos and materials handed down by teachers, and teachers can also set exercises after class in Top Hat. In this way, students can better grasp the content of the course. One problem, however, is that students who want to study at Top Hat have to pay a fee.
Reflection: I chose this activity because I have been exposed to many learning tools over the years. I hope to analyze these learning tools more systematically, and I want to know whether learning tools can help students learn better or not protect students’ privacy better. This project has given me a better understanding of the need to strictly review the learning tools when using them. Because we are not sure whether these tools will bring some potential harm to our time. I’ve learned from the technology I’ve chosen that we need to be more cautious when using educational technology tools. In this way, we can better protect our privacy security.