TCM & Ball State Present Mad About Musicals — World’s Largest Study Hall!

TCM and Ball State University looked to Shindig to host a large-scale interactive study hall for their extremely popular online class, Mad About Musicals, offering students the opportunity to ask their remaining questions directly to instructors, Dr. Vanessa Ament and Dr. Richard Edwards, the day before their final exam.

The one-hour session was broken into 15-minute segments dedicated to each decade covered in the course. Students were encouraged to ask their questions via Shindig’s “share the stage” and “text question” features. Through Shindig’s user-friendly admin panel, Richard and Vanessa were able to effectively address the most relevant and interesting questions, ensuring a good flow of information. The event ended with Richard and Vanessa jumping down into the audience to mix and mingle with students.

The Shindig study hall “was the most successful MOOC in terms of student retention and student completion” (Canvas). Over 800 students attended the event and many engaged with numerous questions. Vanessa and Richard were both highly impressed with the ability to see all the students and the flow of interaction. They answered as many questions as time permitted continuing to share their extensive knowledge with the Mad About Musicals Community.