TopHat vs Meridian LMS

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Our analysts compared TopHat vs Meridian LMS based on data from our 400+ point analysis of LMS Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

TopHat Software Tool
Meridian LMS Software Tool

Product Basics

Top Hat is an online teaching platform that offers digital classrooms, discussions, customizable questions, textbooks, lectures, videos, attendance, assignments and more. Learners can get real-time feedback, proctor tests and quizzes and stream lectures. Administrators can track progress and look at overall trends.


It integrates with other education programs and works for students and instructors. Overall, the tools let users design workspaces, create interactive materials, make quick assignments and proctor exams. In many classes, it’s used to replace clickers which allowed teachers to show materials on-screen and students to choose answers via a handheld device at their desk. The resulting answers are shown via a bar graph on the screen for a visual representation of the group’s understanding. Its specialty is helping educators find and publish quality open education resources.
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Meridian LMS is a sophisticated learning management system designed to streamline and enhance the learning experience for organizations. It is particularly well-suited for industries such as government, healthcare, and corporate sectors that require robust compliance and certification management. The platform offers unique benefits like customizable learning paths, advanced reporting, and seamless integration capabilities, making it a powerful tool for managing employee training and development. Users appreciate its intuitive interface and the ability to tailor content to specific organizational needs. Compared to similar products, Meridian LMS stands out for its flexibility and comprehensive feature set, which includes mobile learning and social collaboration tools. Pricing details are not publicly disclosed, so it is advisable for potential users to contact SelectHub for a personalized quote based on their specific requirements. Overall, Meridian LMS is a versatile and effective solution for organizations seeking to optimize their learning management processes.
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Product Assistance

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Product Insights

  • Better Content: The solution can help create and deliver high-quality content. Learners keep access to their materials even after the lesson is over. It also changes up boring PDFs and replaces them with interactive content with embedded videos, questions and graphics.
    • Digital Textbooks: Instructors can create, adapt, share and customize textbooks and other interactive materials for their course. They are always up-to-date. Users can embed assessments right into the material to see how students are absorbing material as they read. The text can also integrate videos and animations for more engaging material. It’s free or low-cost for the students and constantly added to by a community of educators.
    • Marketplace: It provides different integrated applications for coursework and content. Learners and teachers have access to thousands of textbooks, educational materials, question packs and over 20,000 open classroom resources. The subjects include anthropology, arts, biology, business, chemistry, computer science, cultural studies, earth science, education, engineering, ethics, health, humanities, law, math, medicine, physics, religious studies, science and more.
    • Customizing and OER: Users can change up the digital textbooks for intro courses to add and remove relevant information. Content is up to date and easy to modernize in the places where it may be lacking. It can take feedback and give changes in real-time. Through the marketplace, it’s easy to get open education resources from places like OpenStax and Saylor. This makes it easy for the school library to find the OER they need.
  • Greater Student Engagement: Students can receive more encouragement to participate, learn and have a voice. Some tools include a discussion prompt added between slides, awarding participation points and anonymous participation for shy students. Students can vote for responses in a queue, giving teachers an idea of where the group isn’t understanding the material. For creative questions, students can even submit drawings. The solution allows instructors to sync slides with students’ devices while students can’t move ahead of the class. This forces them to pay attention. Educators can share the responses of students in fun, interactive ways with visual graphs, heat maps and word clouds. Upon the end of the lecture, instructors can let their students see slides in review mode so they can study.
  • Better Interoperability: While the solution does some of the same things as the learning solutions, it also integrates with other more complex platforms such as Blackboard, Canvas, D2L and Moodle. For those who already have an LMS and SIS set up, this connects seamlessly to bump up the experience without getting rid of present tools.
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  • Enhanced User Engagement: Meridian LMS offers interactive learning experiences that keep users engaged through multimedia content, quizzes, and gamification elements.
  • Scalable Learning Solutions: Whether you're a small business or a large enterprise, Meridian LMS scales to meet your needs, accommodating a growing number of users without compromising performance.
  • Customizable Learning Paths: Tailor learning experiences to individual needs by creating personalized learning paths, ensuring that each user receives the most relevant training.
  • Comprehensive Reporting Tools: Gain insights into learner progress and course effectiveness with robust analytics and reporting features, helping you make data-driven decisions.
  • Seamless Integration: Meridian LMS integrates smoothly with existing systems such as HR software and CRM platforms, ensuring a cohesive digital ecosystem.
  • Mobile Accessibility: Learners can access courses anytime, anywhere, on any device, providing flexibility and convenience that fits into their busy schedules.
  • Compliance Management: Stay compliant with industry regulations through automated tracking and reporting of mandatory training requirements.
  • Cost Efficiency: Reduce training costs by centralizing learning resources and eliminating the need for physical training materials and venues.
  • Improved Knowledge Retention: Utilize spaced repetition and microlearning techniques to enhance knowledge retention and application in real-world scenarios.
  • Robust Security Measures: Protect sensitive data with advanced security protocols, ensuring that user information and learning content remain secure.
  • Streamlined Administration: Simplify administrative tasks with intuitive dashboards and automated workflows, freeing up time for strategic initiatives.
  • Global Reach: Support a diverse workforce with multilingual capabilities and culturally relevant content, facilitating global training initiatives.
  • Continuous Learning Culture: Foster a culture of continuous learning by providing employees with ongoing access to new skills and knowledge.
  • Efficient Onboarding Process: Accelerate new employee onboarding with structured learning modules that ensure a smooth transition into the company.
  • Community Building: Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing through discussion forums and social learning features, building a sense of community among learners.
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  • Testing: With built-in security, users can host tests, quizzes and exams in a virtual environment where students can bring their own devices. Tests are easy to build and customize with multiple formats for questions. The fourteen unique question types include fill-in-the-blank, word answers, multiple-choice, numeric answers, click-on-target and many others. Students can also do video assignments, drawings or chemistry questions. Several behavioral algorithms help teachers monitor students and prevent cheating. If they do, they’re immediately locked out. Instructors can also see a real-time report and can offer secure codes so students can get into the proper test. Once the exam is complete, educators can automatically grade and have results show up immediately in the gradebook. This system is compatible with smartphones, laptops and tablets and doesn’t require a separate app. Grades can transfer to an LMS or other solution. Once grading is complete, it’s easy to review results and identify at-risk learners.
  • Attendance: Teachers can verify attendance in several ways. First, they can prompt students to sign in using a unique code and assign grades to reward students who are present. Second, the solution can verify the students’ physical location so only those in class get counted. It sends points for roll call and participation straight into the gradebook. Alternatively, instructors can build options for excused absences.
  • Grading and Reporting: Users can track learner progress, implement weighted grading and track attendance and performance. All of this transfers to the gradebook automatically. Instructors can weigh factors such as questions, participation and attendance. From there, administrators can analyze information and adjust for future lessons. To make sure teachers miss nothing it automatically captures student replies and participation grades in the gradebook.
  • Course Creation: Users can integrate quizzes, tests and other course materials. They can also track through analytics and port results over to other software. The system is FERPA compliant and has extensive support. Some other functions are the discussion tool where students can collaborate, offline mode, multiple file type capabilities, access to the marketplace, design consulting and more. Administrators can include gamification, flip classrooms and use devices to bump up engagement. Teachers can also stream lectures and students can participate in a live chat.
  • Assignments: It provides the functionality to create, personalize and auto-grade homework. Teachers can assign unique questions based on the group or individual and use interactive questions to engage students and reinforce the material. Homework assignments are easy and quick to assemble. Users can time responses, limit wrong answers or show the correct answers. They can also add images, videos and website links and build existing homework right into the platform. When the homework is complete, instructors can provide feedback immediately with comments. For hard subjects, users can create ungraded homework.
  • Institutions: Broader districts or institutions using the solution can acquire support specifically for their needs. The solution provides help with implementation, scaling, onboarding and other resources. Afterward, the company can help administrators review the program’s success. For organizations looking for more comprehensive help, the company manages support and training for the institution. They also offer workshops that follow the pedagogy and challenges of the faculty. A team of 40 instructional designers works to make this happen while a dedicated account manager communicates one-on-one. It integrates with all major LMSs and works with Shibboleth for easy configuration and single sign-on capability. It comes with institution-paid and student-paid options and has a clicker buyback program for the early transition.
  • Cloud-Based: The solution is a Software-as-a-Service and available without additional hardware or installing. It’s designed to scale smoothly and collects student data to ensure the organization is keeping track of student aptitude and progress.
  • Assessments: These deeper level analytics go after not just individual grades or students, but can track performance, completion, persistence and learning outcomes across the organization. It offers both summative and formative analysis so instructions can both correct the overall course and find individuals who need help. This makes it easier to track, identify, diagnose and fix problems when they arise.
  • Content Creation and Course Authoring: For specialized content, the solution provides authoring tools to create the materials. Users can get help with textbook projects. Instructors who want to share their work on the marketplace still own the copyright and earn royalties. It also provides collaborative projects where multiple educators and experts can come together to make a textbook. Creators can import OER or other content and split the revenue among collaborators.
  • Accessibility: It has various options to accommodate different students and learning styles. This includes allowing students to dial-in to a lecture via phone, transcripts of lecture records and videos of class meetings. It also optimizes assignments and textbooks so students can work from their desired device.
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  • Personalization: Provide learners with the ability to hand-select topics that interest them to get specialized course recommendations within the homepage and catalogs. 
  • Mobile Learning: Use the platform’s mobile application to allow students to access learning materials anytime, online and offline. Let administrators and instructors make changes and process approvals. 
  • eLearning Authoring: Create customized learning content and experiences for learners using an intuitive, easy-to-use interface at no additional cost to users. 
  • Branding: Personalize the interface with company logos, custom URLs and domain names for various audiences. 
  • eCommerce: Sell created courses on the platform utilizing multiple secure payment gateways, pricing schedules, discount codes and taxation calculations. 
  • Assessments: Test learner’s knowledge using pre- and post exams and surveys. Use certification panels that indicate progress, smart banners that show the next likely actions and test lockouts to keep track of the entire learner’s journey. 
  • Learning Record Store: Using xAPI capabilities to track content even outside of the LMS software. Users can track and manage the information in any format such as YouTube content, gaming, MP4s and more. 
  • Accessibility: Follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level A and AA and Section 508 Standards to meet accessibility qualifications. 
  • Zoom Integration: Use Zoom integration to track attendance and schedule online meetings. 
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Product Ranking

#31

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#23

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LMS Software

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User Sentiment Summary

Good User Sentiment 63 reviews
Great User Sentiment 15 reviews
78%
of users recommend this product

TopHat has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 78% when considering 63 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

84%
of users recommend this product

Meridian LMS has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 84% when considering 15 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

4.0 (22)
4.0 (4)
3.8 (38)
4.2 (9)
n/a
4.5 (2)
4.0 (3)
n/a

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Interactive Features: TopHat offers interactive features such as live polling, quizzes, and discussion tools.
Easy Integration: TopHat can be integrated with other educational tools to streamline workflows.
Improved Engagement: TopHat helps increase student participation and engagement during lectures.
Valuable Analytics: Educators gain insights into student performance through TopHat's analytics features.
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User-Friendly Interface: Meridian LMS is recognized for its intuitive design, making it easy for users to navigate and engage with learning materials.
Comprehensive Features: The platform offers a wide array of tools and functionalities, including content authoring, progress tracking, and reporting, to support diverse learning needs.
Robust Security: Meridian LMS prioritizes data protection with strong security measures, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of user information.
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Cost: TopHat is often more expensive than other LMS options, which can be a barrier for budget-conscious users.
Technical Issues: Some users have reported experiencing occasional technical glitches or difficulties with the platform.
Learning Curve: New users may require some time to familiarize themselves with all of TopHat's features and functionalities, leading to a learning curve.
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Manual Data Entry: Meridian LMS may require significant manual data entry, especially when synchronizing information with payroll systems, leading to increased administrative burden.
Occasional Glitches: Some users have reported experiencing occasional glitches, such as needing to refresh the page to reflect course completion, which can disrupt the user experience.
Reporting Limitations: Users have expressed a desire for enhanced reporting functionalities within the platform, suggesting that the current reporting features may not be comprehensive enough for all business needs.
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Is TopHat a top-tier learning management system, or does it fall flat? User reviews from the last year reveal a mixed bag. TopHat is praised for its interactive features that boost student participation, such as polls, quizzes, and seamless integration with existing LMS platforms. Educators particularly appreciate its ability to transform lectures into engaging experiences, as highlighted by a professor who lauded TopHat for breathing life into their classroom and facilitating dynamic student interaction. However, some users find the platform's initial navigation somewhat cumbersome and occasionally encounter technical hiccups. A case in point is the "time-constrained attendance marker," which reportedly suffers from lag, impacting user experience. While TopHat's customer support receives mixed reviews, its strengths lie in its user-friendly interface, diverse question formats, and smooth integration capabilities. Its standout feature, the ability to create an interactive and engaging learning environment, makes it a hit among educators. Conversely, the pricing model, which requires students to pay individually, draws criticism for potentially hindering access for some. A user aptly pointed out, "Not all of my students have the means to pay for access (which can really impact their grade if they don't use the platform)." TopHat's differentiating factor lies in its dedication to fostering student engagement and active learning. This is achieved through features like real-time polls, quizzes, and interactive presentations, setting it apart from traditional, static learning platforms. A testament to this is a user's comment, "Top Hat is a great student engagement tool, useful in polling students on the fly or setting up assessments prior to class." In conclusion, TopHat is best suited for educators seeking to infuse their classrooms with interactivity and boost student participation. Its array of engagement-focused tools makes it ideal for educators who prioritize active learning. However, the pricing structure might pose a challenge for students with limited financial resources, making it crucial for institutions to consider alternative funding models or explore site licenses to ensure equitable access for all.

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Is Meridian LMS the prime example of a learning management system? User reviews from the past year suggest that Meridian LMS is a robust platform with a few caveats. Users consistently praise its user-friendly interface, making it easy for even tech-averse individuals to navigate and manage training. One user even mentioned that "even a beginner can also easily find everything," highlighting the platform's intuitive design. This ease of use is critical in today's fast-paced work environment, where employees need quick and easy access to training materials. However, some users have pointed out that the initial setup process can be somewhat complex, particularly for organizations with intricate training needs. This complexity might necessitate additional time and resources during the implementation phase. Despite this initial hurdle, once the system is up and running, users find it to be a valuable tool for managing and delivering training content. Its robust reporting features, which allow for detailed tracking of employee progress and performance, are particularly well-regarded. Overall, Meridian LMS appears to be a good fit for businesses of all sizes looking for a comprehensive learning management system, but those with simpler needs might find alternative solutions more suitable due to the initial setup complexity.

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