How To

Try a word association exercise to quickly boost your students' creativity. In the “word cloud” feature, simply type in a word, then set a timer for two minutes and let students submit every word they can think of related to that word. Take a look at the screen when the timer is up and see if any interesting patterns or ideas emerge. Using a word cloud, you can easily identify the relationship between the most obvious and the least and perhaps most creative.

How To

Brainstorming is all about coming up with ideas, and sometimes the best ideas come from thinking about things that don’t seem to go together. So for this technique, choose two random objects and let the students try to find a connection between them. It could be something as simple as both being made of paper or being used for writing. The point is to get students thinking outside the box and coming up with creative solutions.

How To

Think about a problem among students and let them come up with the worst solution possible. For example let them brainstorm about how to pass a hard test without learning. This will challenge the pupils to think outside the box and come up with creative answers. Using the upvoting tool for this brainstorming technique will determine which idea wins. Students can vote on all the ideas that are sent in.

How To

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what would you take with you?

This is a classic brainstorming technique that can be used to get students thinking about what they would need to survive. To make it more challenging, you can ask them to name three items that they would take to an inhabited island.

Let everyone defend their items and let the students vote on the most unique items.

How To

A pencil can be used for so much more than just writing! It can also be used as a drumstick, a toothpick, a bookmark, a hair tie, or a miniature sword. Pick a random object and let your students brainstorm about all the different purposes it can have. Let them send in their answers through open ended questions and review their answers.