Define a Problem and Brainstorm Ideas - AgTech for Good

Instructor directions are listed below:

1. Divide students into teams of 2-4.
    
2. Have students vote on which IoT category they chose as most interesting and record their selection on their board and on page 11 of their Thinkabit Lab Notebook.
    
3. Have groups spend 3-5 minutes discussing problems they want to solve in their IoT category.
    
4. Once they have decided on a problem, have one person record their problem on the team's white board or poster paper and have each student record the problem in their Thinkabit Lab Notebook on page 11.
    
5. Have groups spend 5-10 minutes discussing possible IoT solutions to their problem.

   Some guiding questions you can ask groups are:
   What problem did your team decide you want to solve?
   What are some of the possible IoT solutions your team thought of to solve this problem?
   How does your invention use the Internet or a wireless connection to make it an IoT solution?

6. Encourage groups to write up all ideas provided by members of the team, regardless of how good or "bad" the idea is.  Emphasize that there are no bad ideas at this point, it is simply a brainstorm.
    
7. Ask students to select one IoT solution to their problem that they would like to move forward with.  If you are using the Thinkabit Lab Notebook, have students complete page 11 by answering the following questions.

   What IoT category(s) did your team select?
   What problem do we want to solve?
   How does this problem effect the world around us?
   What are possible solutions to this problem?
   How does our solution use the Internet (or wireless connection) to make it an IoT invention?

We find groups of 4 to be best as students work in pairs during the engineering activities, but groups of 4 are not always possible. Determine the best group arrangement for your class based on numbers and previous group experience.

As groups are brainstorming, circulate the room to ensure that groups are on task and everyone is included in the conversation, but try not to linger too long with any one group or guide their brainstorm in any particular direction.

If some groups finish early, they can begin to sketch a design of their solution, come up with a product name, and perhaps even a company name.

If you are using the Thinkabit Lab Notebook, students should complete the questions on page 11 as they complete this activity.