No one understands the student experience better than students themselves. That’s why their voices—and their creativity—belong on school social media. When students are empowered to share their perspective, the result is content that’s authentic, relevant, and often more engaging than traditional school communications.
As part of our mission to provide students with opportunities to showcase their storytelling skills, we partnered with NETA (the Nebraska Educational Technology Association) to host our second annual live student social media contest at their spring conference.
The contest challenged students from ten schools across Nebraska to create original posts for Class Intercom’s branded “The Content Generation” social channels. Each team received creative prompts, then worked in a fast-paced, agency-style setting to plan, shoot, write, edit, and share their work in just three hours.
The content they produced blew us away. Here are nine standout pieces that impressed us, made us think, or simply made us smile.
Gretna High School | Trends Challenge
Students from Gretna High School took on the Trends challenge by putting a creative spin on the person-on-the-street, interview-style videos that regularly find their way to our feeds. Their twist? Asking conference attendees elementary-level questions, inspired by a popular trivia game show. The result was a quick, clever video filled with authentic reactions and lighthearted fun. It struck just the right balance between trend-aware and school-appropriate—showing just how well students can translate trending content into something ready for school socials.
Seward High School | Get Creative Challenge
One challenge gave students full creative freedom, asking them to pitch and produce a piece of content that wasn’t already on the list. Students from Seward High School proposed a concept built around the theme “Every color tells a story,” using the various colors found throughout the NETA conference to visually represent different aspects of the event. The final product was both thoughtful and visually striking—capturing the spirit of the conference from multiple angles. It was a great example of creative storytelling in short form.
Hastings High School | Hype Video Challenge
No one does hype videos quite like the sports world—and students from Hastings High School were eager to create their own spin. But instead of spotlighting star athletes, their video celebrated the students behind the camera. They came prepared with lights, cameras, and even a smoke machine to deliver a production that rivaled professional sports intros. With sharp timing, well-chosen music, and bold effects, they brought their vision to life and nailed the goal: making everyone who saw it wish they were there.
Gretna High School | Facebook Reel Challenge
For one of their Facebook Reels challenges, students from Gretna High School took a simple but clever approach. They spotted a robot dog at the conference and paired a clip of it with a photo of a real dog from home. The on-screen text read, “The dog I thought I was getting vs. the dog I got.” What impressed us wasn’t just the execution—it was their quick thinking and ability to turn a real-time observation into a piece of funny, shareable content. Exactly what we were hoping to see.
Seward High School | Team Photo Challenge
The first challenge on the list was simple—share a team photo and announce to our followers that you’re competing in a live social media contest. What could’ve been a simple photo, Seward High School students took to the next level. They instead created a carousel post, providing context beyond what we asked for and incorporating graphics to help tell the story.
Hastings High School | May Day Challenge
Since the contest took place on May 1st, we gave students a variety of craft supplies and challenged them to create a video showing their process for crafting a May Day Basket and gifting it to a conference attendee. Students from Hastings High School responded with a tutorial-style video that walked viewers through the process from start to finish. Shot from a high angle, the video paired thoughtful framing with impressive crafting skills that kept it engaging to watch throughout.
Burwell Public Schools | Team Photo Challenge
When we saw Burwell Public Schools break out a green screen, we knew they meant business—and they didn’t disappoint. For their team photo challenge, each student posed individually, highlighting their unique content creation strengths, and the team edited the shots together into a really cool graphic that showcased their skills and creativity.
Seward High School | May Day Challenge
For the May Day Challenge, a student from Seward High School stood out with a creative take on the “Get Ready With Me” video format—a style of content where creators film themselves preparing for their day or an event while sharing thoughts or commentary. In this case, she invited viewers to make the basket with her while she took the time to explain the history of May Day. It was a smart blend of a trending format and educational content that felt natural, engaging, and entirely unique.
North Platte High School | Blog Challenge
One of the more intense challenges we gave students was to write a blog as part of the three-hour competition. Madi Hilderbrand, a student from North Platte High School, wrote a piece that exceeded our expectations. In her blog, North Platte High School Alumni Helped Me Write My Story, Madi reflects on how interviewing alumni for a school podcast transformed her perspective and deepened her appreciation for both her school and her community. This piece is a powerful example of the value of student voice and the impact that can be made when students are empowered to share community stories.
From video storytelling to blog writing, students brought originality, personality, and purpose to every post. At Class Intercom, we believe these are the kinds of real-world opportunities that help students build confidence and skills. If your school is looking for ways to empower student creators and strengthen your school’s story, we’d love to help you get started. Follow the link below to get in touch.
