Combining Real and Virtual Cards

Facilitating with real and virtual CCS Cards products for learning impact, economy and sustainability

Combining virtual CCS Cards and real CCS Cards products

While our virtual CCS Cards applications allow facilitators to deliver fully virtual CCS Card sessions, they also offer a new level of flexibility, economy and learning impact when used in combination with real CCS Cards products.

1/ Easily give every participant their own pack of CCS Cards

The key element in the powerful application of CCS Cards has always been that every participant is given their own pack of the same set of image cards.

Before our Virtual CCS Cards applications, the only way to achieve this was to provide all your participants with a real pack of cards. While our best facilitators always seek to do this, it's not always practical, or planned, or within the budget, or the airline luggage weight limits!

But now, giving your participants their own (virtual) pack of CCS Cards is just a few clicks away. By simply starting a CCS Cards VFE session, you can give your participants a way to activate a free set of CCS Cards on their mobile phone or tablet. They can sit back and quietly make their selections, almost like holding a real pack, and then easily share their choices with others in the group.

It's very economical (as low as 70 cents per participant), almost instant, and waste and weight free. And, as you will see below, combines powerfully with real CCS products such as Jumbo Vision Packs and CCS Vision Stickers to create a multi-sensory learning experience.

RESOURCE: Printable table-top Scan and Join doc makes it effortless for everyone to download the mobile App and Join your session (there's a space for you to add the Session ID)

2/ Participants record choices with Vision Stickers

  1. Once your participants have made their selections on their mobile devices, ask them to form pairs or small groups and share why they chose what they chose.
  2. Ask them to find 4 cards that best represent the key ideas from their small group.
  3. Hand each small group a sheet of CCS Vision Stickers, a sticker template (or a blank sheet of paper) and pens.
  4. Ask them to peel off the matching stickers, stick them on the template and use the pens to write what each card represents for their small group.
  5. Once all small groups have completed the activity, ask one person from each to report back to the whole group about their findings.

3/ Facilitate group alignment with Jumbo Vision cards

  1. As the small groups share their findings, take out your CCS Jumbo Vision Pack and pull out each of the cards mentioned.
  2. Place the selected Jumbo cards on the floor or table or up on the wall in full view of the group.
  3. Now, ask the team to take control and to work together to "tighten the vision". Encourage them to physically interact with the images — to move them around, sort, swap, group and discard them.
  4. They may also like to attach a piece of paper next to each card or group of cards to highlight meaning.
  5. Have the group openly discuss and debate choices and associated comments to look for overlapping ideas and themes.
  6. Encourage them to combine and collate the cards and comments to produce a tighter set of cards.
  7. Remind participants that it is not really the cards that are important, it is the meanings that are being uncovered.
  8. Keep everyone involved and engaged in the process. From time to time you may like to ask the group or particular participants questions such as:
    • “So would you all agree on this choice?”
    • “Which is stronger for you?”
    • “What’s most important for you?”
    • “Which card or meaning could you not live without?”
  1. Encourage the group to try to get the vision down to between 4 and 8 cards. There’s no magic to the number, but experience suggests that this is sufficient to memorably summarise the main elements.

Tip: It is okay if the group has lots of themes, but as a minimum, it is best that they at least reduce the initial collection down by a few cards to ensure a common feeling of commitment and combined voice.

4/ Take a snapshot of the result

  1. Take a snapshot of the final result with your phone for later follow up.
  2. Next steps will include: action steps, start-stop-continue, and/or values-to-behaviours kinds of activities.