Hello, lovely humans. Today we’re looking at a digital postcard activity. It’s pretty simple: participants design the front and back of a postcard to represent and remember an experience. I’ve used activity at the end of a two-day online conference and asked participants to summarize what they enjoyed and learned. SUCCESS!
Some Things to Consider
- This doesn’t need to be a digital activity! Print out the PDF and have participants use writing utensils (crayons, markers, pens, etc.) and/or craft supplies (glitter, construction paper, stickers, ribbon, etc.) to adorn their postcards. Or- hear me out- use real postcards!
- This activity can be successfully completed by a group or individuals. A group that worked closely together can make a postcard as cumulative activity to wrap up their time together. Conversely, a group who spent little time together can make a postcard to learn about their different experiences.
- You can frame this activity as an opportunity for participants to 1) capture what they want to remember after this experience, 2) share what they learned and what was meaningful, or 3) explain what happened to someone who wasn’t there.
Get Ready
There are a lot of ways to present this activity- here’s three!
Option 1
- Open this Google Slides presentation: Blank Postcard Template
- Either, copy the Black Postcard Template (File > Make a Copy > Entire Presentation) and rename it to suite your purposes.
- Or, copy each slide and paste them into whatever presentation you’re using.
Option 2
- Download the images below and add them to your presentation (Insert > Image > Upload from computer)
Option 3
- Download the PDF files
- Print on sturdy paper, like card stock.
Prepare Participants
- Explain to participants that the postcard activity is an opportunity for them to process what they learned and experienced, what they want to remember later, or what is important.
- Confirm that participants are familiar with postcards and determine if participants need help using Google Slides.
- Give participants the link to access Google Slides.
- Participants can find images online and insert them into the slides. They can also insert shapes, lines, and texts directly from Google Slides. If making physical postcards, explain that participants can draw pictures, collage with old magazines, or use other craft supplies.
- Let participants know if they will be expected to share their work with anyone or if their postcard will remain private.
- The amount of time needed for this activity will depend on how comfortable the participants are with Google Slides and finding images online, or what craft supplies are available for physical postcards. Try to give participants a clear idea of how much time they will have for this activity.
A Brief Debrief
This activity isn’t designed to gain deeper insight into an experience or relationship- it’s simply for reflection and expression. If participants are sharing their postcards, you can engage through light-hearted questions and prompts, such as:
- Tell us about your postcard!
- How did you make your postcard? What materials did you use?
- How did you represent what you learned?
- What is your favorite part of [the experience]? Where is that on the postcard?
- Does your postcard capture any of the challenges you experienced?
- [Make observations about the participant’s postcards and state them out loud followed by a pause: You used a lot of blue… I see a group of friends…It seems like the sun is shining…]