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Creativity Ideation
Introduction
Welcome to the Webquest on Creativity Ideation.


“You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.” – Lee Iacocca

- Do you know what creativity ideation is?
- Do you know how to define and understand this very wide concept?
- Are you a creative person yourself?

Watch this video to get an idea of  Creativity Ideation: The shape of ideation

As you may have realized, there are several definitions available to describe the “Creativity Ideation”.   

Creativity is about problem solving OR The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness OR The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.
 
In a world characterized by uncertainty and complicated problems, creativity ideation is one of the most significant characteristics of being human. Creativity ideation process is an effective method to generate new ideas and solve problems.
Task
There are 3 phases involved in the “Creativity Ideation” which will help you to better understand the process of idea generation and its characteristics!!!


Phases to a successful ideation:                                                     
- Identification of a problem
- Generation of new ideas
- Evaluation of ideas and selection of one

The process of ideation is not a unique one and can be divided into various procedures, depending on the needs of the group or the individual. 
The primary purpose of “Creativity Ideation” is to identify a problem in your environment, think and further elaborate sustainable ideas to solve it and follow an assessment method to select the most appropriate one. As part of this webquest, you are invited to complete a set of steps. These steps can help you come up with a sustainable idea to solve the problem you’ve identified.
Initially, you will gain an understanding of the concept of creativity and its characteristics. Another key part of this step is to take effective notes, which help you prioritize ideas. Then, you will learn how to identify a problem and come up with a solution through real life stories. Furthermore, you will go through some methods on how to design a new idea. In the next step, you will apply what you learned about creativity ideation in order to generate new ideas for new products and services. Moreover, you will explore different methods for collecting data to validate your idea.
Follow the 4 steps to design your idea as a solution to the problem you have identified. You need to write down all the necessary information. As a final step, when your idea is ready, share it with your colleagues and identify helpful connections or supporters.
Process
Let’s Get Started!

1. Understanding Creativity
What is Creativity?
 

In this step, you will need to take some notes, so before you start watching videos about “idea generation”, you may want to take a look at the following articles on how to take effective notes:
What’s the best, most effective way to take notes?
Making notes is essential
After learning about methods on how to take effective notes, let’s now watch some videos about “idea generation” – and take notes. After watching the videos, we will ask you to respond to the following questions:
- What is the meaning of idea generation?
- Why is idea generation important?
- How do you generate new ideas?
- What is an idea generation technique?

Six creative ideas to brainstorm
WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM
Search online for additional resources, using a search engine, e.g. Google
Based on your notes, you can now try to elaborate and respond to the questions above about idea generation in no more than 100 words per question.

2. Identify a problem
Problems and opportunities can be identified in different contexts.
- In our daily activities
- In our everyday lives
- In our work settings

We can ask ourselves: Wouldn’t it be better if…


Problem identification is not a simple task. You should list and organize the causes of the problem you identify. Then, it is important to prepare a statement about the problem and find someone to review it. You should be able to come up with a solution idea which can be addressed by you, based on your background and experience.
Next, are presented two real-life stories to stimulate your creative thinking. Read them and then:
- Track the similarities and the differences by comparing the main problems, the context, the idea and solutions found, the innovation of each idea and the impact (if any).
- After that, make a list with problems which can identify in your area of interest.
 
Story 1
Here's how a couple, Max and Sarah, found a small new idea while going on a cruise holiday.  Max and Sarah decided to go on a holiday, the problem was that they never went on a cruise before and didn't know what to expect. They found the cruise company website but that was promotional and didn't describe the experience objectively and, most importantly, didn't answer a lot of questions the couple had. While on the cruise, Max decided to start a website where he wrote articles about his experience. He started answering different questions like: "Can I watch Netflix on a cruise ship?" and other questions that he thought of. They promoted the website using SEO (search engine optimization) and by creating easy to read content. In the first two months, they made €100 from the blog, as they started writing more articles and answering more questions, their income increased. Within 12 months they were making an extra €3,000 per month from affiliate programmes and Google advertising.

Story 2
A charger pin unit built in a mobile, which can be plugged in directly or through thin extendable wires. Hence, one now does not need to remember carrying the charger and also need not worry about freak accidents cause due to talking while charging. Both Karan and his brother Siddharathan use smartphones for various purposes. During one of their family excursions, they took a lot of photographs using their mobile, which drained the battery quickly. As they had forgotten their charger, they could not charge the mobile and missed many opportunities of
beautiful shots. This made them think and come up with this idea. The duo likes to play carom and chess, and want to become businessmen.
 
3. Idea development
Until now, you learned on how to identify a problem and think creatively in order to find an idea that will lead into a solution; this is the first step of creativity ideation.
In this step, you will learn effective methods to generate new ideas. Use the following links to help you continue your exploration:
Idea Generation 
How to Find Business Ideas - The Ultimate Guide
 
You are invited to discover a method that will help you to generate new ideas for new products and services.  
Read the article about the SCAMPER METHOD (write down notes in bullet points in a piece of paper) and respond to the following question:
- What does SCAMPER mean and what is it?

Search for additional resources online and find examples on how SCAMPER was (or could be) applied to a product or service.
It is important to take note of the best ideas. We can make a list of ideas as possible solutions to the problem and for that, we need to be creative and brainstorm. You can use one of the following techniques to generate a new idea:
- Make a checklist
- Make an idea map
- SCAMBER METHOD

Now, you will apply what you learned so far about creativity ideation in order to generate new ideas for new products and services. After reviewing the methods for designing an idea, think of ideas that can be possible solutions to the problem you have identified in Step 2. Write down these ideas. 
Practical tips that can help you develop your new idea:
- Realize what problem you want to solve
- Identify your target group
- Use ideation techniques (Brainstorming, SCAMBER Method etc.) to find the best idea
- Organize your idea into a logical outline


4. Idea validation    
So far, you must have figured out what “idea generation is”, how to identify a problem and generate a new idea. In this step, you will learn how to collect data in order to validate your idea. We need to collect data regarding:
- the current state of the problem
- any related ideas, services or products already in the market
- market cost
- estimating your potential customer size

 There are different ways of doing research and many possible methods of gathering data. Let’s start by watching the video Why Market Research is Important
The following are common data collection methods:
1.      Focus Group
2.      Questionnaires
3.      Interviews
4.      Observations
5.      Using the Internet to collect data

The World Wide Web contains a lot of information related to the problem and solutions you have identified. You need to train yourself to focus on the kind of data that can help you validate the viability and sustainability of your solutions. Check the next links to get an insight of how you can validate your idea:
Validation Guide
+ 20 Ways to Test your Business Ideas
 
Evaluate the ideas that you have identified in Step 4 by checking their viability and sustainability. You can use the data collection methods and the world wide web or a checklist with specific requirements.

Having selected the best idea, you need to refine your final idea and write it down clearly. Now, you can present your final idea to different people and get feedback. Also, you can share your idea with your colleagues, and identify helpful connections or supporters.
Evaluation and Learning Outcomes
After the completion of this webquest, learners will be able to:

Knowledge Skills Responsibility and autonomy
 · fundamental knowledge of
what creativity ideation is
 · fundamental knowledge of the basic concepts of ideation process
 · fundamental knowledge on note taking techniques
 · basic knowledge on how to evaluate and select a viable and sustainable idea
as a solution to a problem

 
· identify problems in everyday life
· take notes according to the techniques found in the webquest
· apply the ideation process to generate a new idea
· use digital tools to generate a new idea
· create and follow a plan to complete work and tasks
· develop and implement ideas that can solve a problem identified in your daily activities
· demonstrate an ability to follow a process
· evaluate and select a viable and sustainable idea as a solution to a real life problem
Conclusion
Through this webquest, you have learned about various aspects of creativity ideation. The transferable knowledge and skills by completing this webquest will allow you to apply the ideation process, which can be used as a method to generate new ideas and solve a problem.

Do not forget to follow the three phases to a successful ideation
- Identification of a problem
- Generation of new ideas
- Evaluation of ideas and selection of one
 
Remember to think outside the box!