Kickstart your school's social media use with a twitter party!

It's October, and that means it's the time of the year where we host an annual twitter party at our school. This is the fourth year that we've hosted a party like this for our teachers and staff, and every year we add a new element to the party. We had to bring Twitter Bingo back this year due to its popularity, and we're still using the Twitter Challenge that we introduced at the 2nd annual party. 

Here's how the day went at this year's 4th annual Twitter Party.

I created two large banners and put them on the wall to provide a backdrop for pictures. I wanted a "photo booth" effect, and I wanted it to display our school hashtag. I simply created the banner at canva.com, then our librarian enlarged it on our school's poster maker machine.

I set up two main "stations" at the large tables in our meeting room based on how familiar the participant was with twitter. 

Those with an account started at a table where they were able to ask each other questions and jump right in on the Twitter Challenge. 

At the "newbie" table for those who were just getting started, there were instruction sheets on the table so that they could create their accounts and get started.  I spent time talking with the newbies as they set up their accounts, too. I also included two reference sheets on the table -- "Anatomy of a Tweet" & "What does your home page look like?" Teachers were able to use these labeled diagrams to navigate twitter as they worked on the Twitter Challenge.

On another table, I placed a basket where teachers could place their completed challenge sheets to be entered into a drawing for an iTunes gift card. 

Something fun that was included this year were these "I tweeted" stickers. I simply used Avery brand labels and formatted them in Microsoft Word. They printed beautifully, and teachers loved getting to pick those up when they turned in their twitter challenge sheets!

It also happened to be #WorldTeacherDay on the day of our twitter party, so I printed the image above, made copies, and had them available at the party. Teachers were able to write in WHY they teach then take a picture for twitter. Lastly, I put the statements on a wall in the meeting room. 

Although I forgot to take pictures of the cookies, they are a staple of our twitter parties! 

Those who attended the twitter party were also able to pick up their Twitter Bingo card and get started, while those who did not attend had to wait for the bingo card to be emailed to them after school. Also new this year was a "department award." The department that had the highest percentage of attendees during the day would receive breakfast delivered to them one morning. This year, the Foreign Language department had 100%!

During 7th period, one of the Spanish teachers said something powerful, and I asked her if she would say it again and let me record it. It speaks to ALL of us when we're afraid to try something new.

I love how REAL @keldinsmore is in this video! We gain nothing if we never take a risk! #hooverpride pic.twitter.com/yFzEzE8VjP

— Jennifer Hogan (@Jennifer_Hogan) October 5, 2016

Do you host a social media event/celebration at your school? I would love to hear about it! tweet me @jennifer_hogan or share in the comments below!


Previous years' parties:
Year 3: How Twitter Bingo can help you tell your school's story
Year 2: How to host a Twitter Party at your school
Year 1: no blog post