Preparing IT Professionals for the Knowledge Economy

Copy right Idea Grou p Inc. Copy right Idea Grou p Inc. ABSTRACT This paper reports the results of an empirical examination of a learning tool aimed at stimulating creative and innovative performance of IT students. The tool is based on a brainstorming method that provides students with external stimuli and exposes them to a large number of ideas over a short period of time. An empirical test was conducted using students from a software development course. The results of this study indicate that application of the tool significantly improves participants’ creative performance. In particular, interaction with the tool resulted in a significant increase in the originality of ideas generated without affecting their relevance and workability. Preparing IT Professionals for the Knowledge Economy