How To Organize A Virtual Graduation Ceremony
A graduation ceremony is a much-awaited event for all high school and college students. The excitement builds over the year in anticipation of this day that marks the completion of their studies. It’s not only the students that look forward to graduation day, their parents also want to enjoy this special occasion.
In our current situation that demands social distancing, event marketers are leveraging the virtual possibilities to host successful events. Virtual graduation ceremonies are the new normal and you can find original ideas for a virtual graduation ceremony all around you.
However, a virtual graduation ceremony requires proper planning and execution to be successful. In this article, you’ll find tips on how to create an online graduation ceremony that’s memorable. All these pointers are super effective and work great to host an online graduation ceremony like never before.
Without any further ado, let’s get started with some virtual graduation celebration ideas!
Best Strategies To Organize A Memorable Virtual Graduation Ceremony
Select an appropriate virtual event platform
First things first, you need to find a proper virtual event platform. Be sure to know the features you’ll need and find this on the platform you will use.You’ll need a live streaming platform that allows you to stream to multiple sites.
Most importantly,the platform should offer fully customizable solutions to the users.
This gives you complete control to host the best virtual graduation ceremony according to your preferences.
Create a virtual background
Default backgrounds on virtual event platforms are often plain and boring to look at. Make your students feel part of the online graduation experience by displaying a creative virtual background.Or learn how to use a green screen (it is not hard at all!)
You’ll garner the attention of your students and they’ll be compelled to pay attention and listen to the speakers and the host.
Include A Social Media Wall
Student engagement plays a major role in keeping the students interested in the event. You need to make sure that you include an element that grabs their attention.There is no better option than a social media wall.
If you are new to the concept, let me explain.A social media wall is a collection of social media feeds from various networks.Every day millions of people post content on social media,and your students are also regular social media users.
Host an activity where you ask your students to post content on their social media using a specific hashtag. It can be in the form of pictures, selfies, videos, etc.
You can further aggregate the content and post it to boost engagement.Your students will be delighted to see their photos and videos and it would motivate other students to participate.
Include a social media ticker
Just as mentioned above, you can display the students' content in the form of a social media ticker.Not sure what a social media ticker is? Take a second to recall news tickers that are running horizontally on the bottom of your TV screens.
By including a social media ticker, you can avoid any interruptions.You want to keep the students engaged but you don’t want to interrupt the farewell speech or the speaker addressing the students. This nifty feature allows you to display social media feeds and the main event at the same time.
Organize quizzes and live polls
Quite similar to any other virtual event, it is crucial for you to keep track of your virtual graduation. Run live polls to ensure the smooth running of the event. Or you can take updates from the students during the event and ask them questions related to the event. It’s an ideal way to check the clarity in speeches or if there are any technical glitches in between.
Additionally, you can add fun live streaming activities like quizzes in-between as fillers. Ask questions like who’s the best mimic, or the most loved teacher in the school, etc. This would help to break any monotony and engage the students even more.
Create a hashtag while promoting the virtual graduation ceremony
Be it any type of event, it needs to be promoted well across various platforms. Even though virtual graduation mainly caters to your students, it too needs to be promoted well.
One amazing promotional strategy is to create a fun hashtag. Motivate the students to post content on their social media and urge other students to attend the event using this hashtag.
Leverage a virtual photo booth
Pictures and selfies are the highlights of any event. No event is complete for the attendees without posting pictures or selfies. Regular events cater to a photo booth and the same concept can be leveraged in virtual events.
Incorporate a virtual photo booth in the event for the students to create a few fun pictures. Depending on the platform chosen, you can include a few fun elements in the virtual photo booth. Make it interesting by adding a backdrop, or incorporating relevant color schemes to increase the impact of the photo booth.
Include gamification during the event
Yes, you read that right. Since student engagement makes the event memorable, you can include gamification to add more to virtual event engagement.
Incorporating games like a few rounds of trivia or engaging quizzes can lead to more interaction between them. Moreover, a round or two of these games would act as a refreshing breather in an event that could become tedious.
Use a virtual signature wall
So what if you cannot include a standard signature wall that’s customary in regular graduation ceremonies?
Replace it with a virtual signature wall. Gather virtual signatures and messages of your students and place them on the wall during the graduation ceremony. For more impact, you can include the signature wall as a backdrop of the virtual event.
Instill nostalgia in students by showing their journey
Students spend the most valuable time of their lives in school and college. While they spend a substantial amount of time in the institution, what matters more is that they create memories for a lifetime.
Use photos and video clips to create a video displaying their journey and its highlights. Include fitting background music to journey down memory lane. Your students will enjoy this and may even be emotional when they see how they’ve transformed as individuals. This quick recap of beautiful school memories will leave a lasting impression on them.
Send over graduation caps and robes
What is graduation without long black robes and caps? The final-year students wait all year long for this event and will be disappointed that the regular graduation ceremony is canceled.
Post or courier an invitation to the virtual school with their graduation robes and caps. Doing so would motivate them to attend the event with full enthusiasm.
Record special notes by the parents
Apart from students, it’s the parents who are most excited and look forward to them graduating. They love to see their children dressed in their graduation attire at the beginning of a fresh chapter in their lives.
Ask the parents to create short video notes sharing their feelings about this accomplishment. Display it on a screen when you speak about the student. This would fill them with pride and joy.
Offer a little help and send the parents a few quick tips on how to create a virtual graduation video.
Host a virtual DJ bash
Lastly, finish a school or college virtual graduation ceremony with a virtual DJ bash party. After going through a roller coaster of emotions, your students will need a break. Now, since everyone is stuck at home, hosting a virtual graduation party may be your best bet.
You can hire a DJ and let them take the show forward. Let it be a surprise for your students and see them get all excited and jump with joy!
Let’s Call It A Wrap
The pandemic drastically changed plans across sectors including the education sector. Students excitedly look forward to graduating and not having a regular graduation ceremony can dampen their spirits.
However, you can light up the situation and bring smiles to their faces by organizing a virtual graduation ceremony.
We’ve reached the end of this post and we’re leaving you with great strategies to host a memorable virtual graduation ceremony. Remember to use these to keep the students engaged and excited throughout the event.
Go on now and begin the preparations for your virtual graduation!
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