iMET 12 282 Tapped In Assignment

282 Strategies for Application and Presentation

Tapped In: Brainstorming Project Ideas
September 30, 2009

Introduction

By now you have had some time to think about your project. You have had a chance to think about who your target audience is, and how to engage them with design elements. You have been considering what your goals for your group's learning resource will be. And you have considered how to incorporate design for all learners into your project. Tonight we will have a structured brainstorming session to formally generate concrete ideas

The purpose of brainstorming is to generate a large quantity of ideas in a very short time. You can do this yourself. Given a problem, a quiet room, and pad and pencil, you can quickly jot down all the possible solutions you can think of in a couple of minutes. But the greatest worth of brainstorming lies in its value as a group process. Brainstorming harnesses the creative powers of groups. People working together in a free-wheeling discussion often come up with ideas none of them could produce individually (Taylor, 1982).

During your 286 class you explored Right brain directed thinking and Left brain directed thinking. For tonight's Tapped In you will be in a structured brainstorming session to generate ideas for your final project.

Tonight you should do what you know works for you to encourage your right brain during our structured brainstorming session. We will be using this process in Tapped In, taking advantage of the automatic transcript, whiteboard and the creative ideas of the group. Below are some guidelines:

• Create as many ideas as you can in a short period of time (Quantity)
• Never approve or disapprove an idea during the session until you have moved to evaluation. In this case not until after break and a review of the project page.
• All ideas, from every group member, are valuable to the process
• Build on ideas
• Be visual! Have markers, colored pencils or pictures available. Pictures unlock creativity.
• You mignt like to use Inspiration Rapid Fire
• Suggest contradictory ideas
• Wild, funny, even silly ideas can turn out to be the springboard to a GREAT idea, don't ignore them
• Members can ask for clarification, but should not comment on the value of an idea during the free speech portion
• Use the strategy of flip-floping (stating the opposite) and piggybacking (logical extension) to push one idea into 3 or more
• Know that lulls will happen and work through them

Groups and Roles:

• Facilitators host the meeting, keep the group on the topic, and help ensure that all members have a chance to be a part of the discussion. IN THIS SESSION YOU WILL ALSO HOST THE WHITEBOARD DURING THE EVALUATION PROCESS.
  
• Timekeepers must keep the group on time and aid the facilitator in ensuring that all members have a chance to be a part of the discussion.
• Recorders will prepare an email for the instructor. The email should have 3 parts. 1) the ideas posted to the whiteboard and their ratings, 2) a brief statement of the pros and cons for the ideas rated #1, and 3) How all ideas posted to the whiteboard where sorted (discard, keep, investigate).
• Copy all group members in on the e-mail
• Put your Group Number in the subject-line of the e-mail
• If you make a decision on a final project idea, include this information also.

Taylor, R., 1982. Brainstorming: In search of an Idea. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 1, 38-40. Link to complete article.

Tapped In Rubric

Instructor

Carr