Collaborative Sticky Note Activities with Explain Everything

One type of collaborative work that is hard to do well across distance and time is to quickly capture a bunch of small ideas and then, in a shared space, arrange and rearrange those small ideas in a bigger frame. In person, this often happens with sticky notes and flip-chart paper. Online, folks are certainly turning to collaborative spaces to make this happen.

I created a template for Explain Everything with 4 template slides and one instructional slide to make it easier for this to happen. One of the underlying design elements was to have people move away from the shared space while getting those small ideas down. Usually people do this at their seat and when ready get up and walk over to the shared space and place the sticky note. I created "idea spaces" on the slides so that people can do their ideating to the side, and bring them over to the main area. No one has to use this space, of course, but it might be helpful when facilitating a large group.

Below are overviews of the 5 slides in the template followed by links to download/access the template.

Instructional Slide

I find it helpful to have instructions at the point of need, and these might be useful when introducing a large group to the mechanics of the space. You can use this slide as a practice space before having folks dive into the real one. And you can also delete any unwanted slides, rename labels, and unlock any of the locked elements.

T-Chart

This is a simple two column chart that can be used for comparisons/contrasts, parallel focuses, in/out tables, and more.

2x2

This 2x2 structure can be used for multi-dimensional decision making, SWOT analyses, polarity mapping, mood meters, and much more.

2-Variable

This two variable chart is helpful for mapping things when one variable is independent (like age or time) and the other is dependent on it. This can be useful for journey mapping, social mapping, or any typer of exercise where it is interesting to understand changes over time or age.

Freeform

This is just an open ended space. You could even delete the background if it's not needed and then add your own headers and structures to the "placement area."

Download/Access Links

• Template (.explain file)
• Template (download link on Explain Everything Drive)