NEWS BLOG

Walter Rodriguez 11/18/22 Walter Rodriguez 11/18/22

THE POWER OF INNOVATION: STEM TO STEAM

Like Apple's team did when designing the iPhone, you can too learn to integrate the Arts concepts and practices into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and training.

STEAM (A for Arts) uses fine art imagery, engineering design graphics, design thinking, and spatial visualization, among other fields. Further, STEAM deepens our students' understanding of science, math, and technology. Arts & Design Thinking can enhance STEM students' persistence, retention, motivation, education & research.

STEAM can spur economic development through breakthrough innovations, products, and services. Thanks to AI and teleconferencing applications, academicians, artists, design-thinkers, engineers, innovators, scientists, students, educators, leaders, publishers, mathematicians, and policymakers can collaborate online to enhance the connection between the Arts and STEM and foster emerging products & services industries.

You can also learn to integrate STEAM into your K-20 educational activities or work tasks. Just ask me--it's free for all teachers and faculty in Southwest Florida. #steameducation #stem #science #educators #mathematics #education #designengineering #design #designthinking #technology #engineering #development #leaders #motivation #persistence #retention #teachers #students #innovation #research #training #engineers #iphone #visualization #fineart

Walter Rodriguez 11/5/22 Walter Rodriguez 11/5/22

Lean Construction & Manufacturing: A Personal Story

Lean Construction & Manufacturing: A Personal Story

By Walter Rodriguez, B.S.C.E., M. Arch., Ph.D., P.E.

We are still getting quotes for replacing the hurricane-damaged tile roof in our Bonita Springs, South West Florida home, which will take many months or over a year to reroof. [Thank God, we just lost tiles and had a backup plan.]

At the same time, not too far from our primary residence, the aluminum roof in our Coursewell team's minimalistic office studio, less than one mile from Vanderbilt Beach in Naples, sat unchallenged during the catastrophic wind- and water-damaged area.

Lesson: Design, Craft, Materials, and Methods are vital factors.

Methods like building on lean principles increase safety, productivity & quality in the construction & manufacturing industries.

Lean Construction (LC) seeks to reduce the variability in build projects and minimize costs, risks, and delays in construction processes. LC is a better method for project owners/developers & contractors thanks to a robust system to manage conception to execution and focus on training employees and project managers.

For more extensive research on the subject, please contact the author. [Note: Coursewell instructional services are free (no cost) to our SWFL community--thanks to sponsoring grants--including lean construction and manufacturing.]

#construction #research #leanmanufacturing #leanconstruction #design #training #careerdevelopment #continuingeducation #lean #team #manufacturing #building #productivity #projectmanagers #contractors #safety #water #projects #quality

Walter Rodriguez 10/3/22 Walter Rodriguez 10/3/22

Innovation and Information Technology

Not too long ago, there was no artificial intelligence (AI), additive manufacturing (3D printing), blockchain, machine learning (ML), mRNA vaccines, the Internet, Cloud computing, cell phones, robots, autonomous electric vehicles, and flying drones to deliver groceries home.

Many of these innovations started with an innovator’s dream, a customer’s need or want, a creative idea popping in someone’s mind, inspiration from walking by the beach, or, more formally, via a process—including a series of brainstorming and design-thinking sessions, among many other steps.

What is Innovation?

Innovation is how you can make your ideas valuable. And how you and your team can make an essential contribution to socioeconomic development in the world (Dodgson, M., & Gann, D. (2010).

Innovation is turning an idea or invention into a good, product, or service that creates value for someone. It is the act or process of developing and implementing new things—from new gadgets and apps to complex operations.

Innovation Empowers People and Powers Enterprises

Innovation involves breakthroughs that can radically change an industry paradigm beyond product tweaking and improving a product, service, or process. Nevertheless, you can also apply the innovation process to enhance your current products, services, spaces, software, or customer experience.

Innovation is crucial to the success of an enterprise. Companies like 3M, Abbott, AstraZeneca, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Comcast, Microsoft, Pfizer, Meta, Mitsubishi, Moderna, Netflix, Salesforce, Tesla, Zoom, and many others have been adapting, innovating, and transforming continuously.

Innovative companies learn from their successful experiences and failures. To wit, the phrase “failing fast often” has been popularized by innovators.

For information about Innovation and IT courses, please contact walter@coursewell.com

Walter Rodriguez 9/12/22 Walter Rodriguez 9/12/22

Innovation Breakthroughs

Innovation breakthroughs support and power enterprises. Below are examples of how companies can gain a competitive edge in the marketplace, from Apple & Amazon to OpenAI.

- Steve Jobs’ Apple team developed the iPhone, merging the telephone with personal-computing functionality, drastically changing several industries. From computer hardware to telephony and mobile software applications. This innovative device propelled new business models, operating systems, software development, and graphical user interface designs. It caused a paradigm shift, where competitors had to quickly adapt and scramble to update their devices or become extinct.

- Jeff Bezos’s Amazon team integrates logistics, distribution, artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and business savvy with compelling customer-centric services, systems, and products, such as Amazon Prime (which transformed the way we quickly and conveniently order online) and Amazon Web Services (AWS)--which changed how other companies buy computing power & cloud storage. And accelerates how developers can quickly develop scalable businesses and software apps.

- OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research & deployment company whose mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. It developed DALL.E trained to create images from a description in natural language. Attached is a picture I "thought" by entering "A neural network of connected light bulbs (sic) ideas yellow."

I am using DALL.E to generate compelling images for my blogs and new book. Of course, it takes a bit of trial and error to come up with the statement of the idea I had in my mind's eye to get the desired effect.

Have you tried it? Like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos, think about the potential business applications.

#innovation #business #traininganddevelopment #certificationtraining #technology #jobs #logistics #ai #research #amazon #softwaredevelopment #appleiphone #aws #language

Walter Rodriguez 8/23/22 Walter Rodriguez 8/23/22

> Connectedness and Upward Mobility

Anchor Courses Improve Economic Connectedness between Job Seekers & Employers

By Walter Rodriguez, Ph.D., P.E.

“Economic connectedness—is among the strongest predictors of upward income mobility to date.” (Chetty, R. et al., 2022; Chetty, R. et al., 2014'; Manduca, R. & Sampson, R. J. 2019.)

It’s not a secret that connecting with employers, well-educated and wealthy individuals can help us (1) access time-sensitive information, (2) shape our goals & aspirations, and (3) secure mentorships, internships, or job referrals (Chetty, R. et al., 2022; Coleman, J. S 1988; Lin, N. & Dumin, M. 1986).

But how can we seek that proximity to those well-positioned and socioeconomic successful individuals? Some people may try to be closer to neighborhoods, communities, schools, parks, events, and associations to improve their chances of interacting with these individuals. For instance, you may encourage children to obtain grants and scholarships to attend well-positioned or purpose-driven colleges. Or, you may offer to volunteer in fundraisers and community organizations that bring in high-wealth or purpose-driven people. Or choose to participate in critical sports and clubs. Better yet, you may seek internships at national or international companies.

I have met many accomplished, well-educated, wealthy individuals (i.e., high socioeconomic status) interested in helping people with low socioeconomic status (SES). The usual question was: What can we do? And my answer has always been to find ways to connect with colleges and community organizations that serve the poor and disadvantaged thru education & certification training.

Blacks, Latinos, and rural disadvantaged individuals have had inadequate educational opportunities and access to capital. And high socioeconomic individuals will recognize creativity, talent, and dedication and, in turn, can access untapped human capital.

Improving economic connectedness can also be enhanced by participating in innovative “anchor courses*" connecting learners, job seekers, employees, and employees. It’s a safe space where everyone is equal and contributes based on their unique talents, creativity, cultural understanding, mindset, and skillset.

“Knowledge drives innovation; innovation drives productivity, productivity drives economic growth.“ William Brody (born 1944), Scientist

*Innovative Anchor Courses

How does it work?: Once course participants complete an "anchor" course on “Innovation & Technology,” we continue providing access to the learning materials & discussions for as long as they want to connect with their peers and the instructor via LMS, and more recently, LMS & Zoom.

Why do that?: This allows participants to stay connected & engaged with the course content. And more importantly, continue learning from the interaction with the new learners added to the course. [Yes, we keep the previous participants (now executives and technical professionals!] These lifelong learners benefit from the course revisions and stay up-to-date. Further, online anchor courses facilitate continuing education and certifications required by rapidly evolving knowledge & work demands around the globe. And it fosters hiring opportunities.

Learners continue the discussions, even when we don't check daily on the system (i.e., Canvas LMS). It's gratifying to learn from my former students working in the field. Learning goes both ways; I genuinely love teaching and learning, which is one of the many reasons.

References

Chetty, R., Jackson, M.O., Kuchler, T. et al. Social capital I: measurement and associations with economic mobility. Nature 608, 108–121 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04996-4

Chetty, R., Hendren, N., Kline, P. & Saez, E. Where is the land of opportunity? The geography of intergenerational mobility in the United States. Q. J. Econ. 129, 1553–1623 (2014). 11.

Coleman, J. S. Social capital in the creation of human capital. Am. J. Social. 94, S95–S120 (1988).

Lin, N. & Dumin, M. Access to occupations through social ties. Soc. Netw. 8, 365–385 (1986).

Manduca, R. & Sampson, R. J. Punishing and toxic neighborhood environments independently predict the intergenerational social mobility of black and white children. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 116, 7772–7777 (2019).

Walter Rodriguez 8/21/22 Walter Rodriguez 8/21/22

>> Linked & Connected with "Anchor" Courses >>

Power of Learning & Networking via Anchor Courses: How Social Connectedness Can Better Our Future

By Walter Rodriguez, Ph.D., P.E.

”US counties with more geographically dispersed social networks are generally richer and better educated, with higher life expectancy and greater social mobility.“ (Cao, R. et al., 2017, after Bailey, M. et al., 2017)

While I directed a university institute in Southwest Florida, my team and I connected USA faculty with European companies seeking to learn more about USA business practices & technologies. Conversely, we linked Southwest Florida students seeking to understand business & technology in Europe (for instance, SAP, etc.). To this effect, we developed online “anchor*” courses in collaboration with European institutes (i.e., SGMI, etc.) [The founding dean of my college used to call this “the second circle model” for connecting universities & industries.]

For over two decades, we have maintained those learning & networking relationships. And continue developing new online anchor courses relevant to both the Southwest Florida region and companies around the World.

I have witnessed how our former students (now executives) have been employed by those international companies and continue connecting from remote and geographically dispersed locations. That’s part of the power of learning & networking via Anchor online courses.

*Anchor Courses

How does it work?: Once course participants complete their "anchor" course, we continue providing access to the learning materials & discussions for as long as they want to connect with their peers and the instructor via LMS, and more recently, LMS & Zoom.

References

Bailey, M, R Cao, T Kuchler, J Stroebel, and A Wong (2017a). “Measuring Social Connectedness.”

Cao, R. et al. (2017). “Social connectedness: Measurement, determinants, and effects. Social connectedness: Measurement, determinants, and effect.”

Walter Rodriguez 8/12/22 Walter Rodriguez 8/12/22

>> "Forever" or "Anchor" Courses

By Walter Rodriguez, Ph.D., P.E.

I have been experimenting and developing asynchronous online courses to last a career lifetime since 2020.

It's a way to serve learners transition from college to the workplace. And facilitate continuing education and certifications required by rapidly evolving knowledge & work demands.

How does it work?: Once course participants complete their "anchor" course, I/we continue providing access to the learning materials & discussions for as long as they want to connect with their peers and me.

Why do I do that?: This allows participants to stay connected & engaged with the course content. And more importantly, continue learning from the interaction with the new learners added to the course. [Yes, I/we keep the previous participants (now working professionals!] These lifelong learners benefit from the course revisions and stay up-to-date.

Besides, learners continue the discussions, even when I don't check daily on the system (i.e., Canvas LMS). It's gratifying to learn from my former students working in the field. Learning goes both ways; I genuinely love teaching and learning—this is one of the many reasons.

Walter Rodriguez 8/1/22 Walter Rodriguez 8/1/22

> Innovate: Develop Your Competitive Differentiator >

Innovate to transform your industry and develop a competitive differentiator! We must innovate in every field of life--from the arts, agriculture, business, education, finance, construction & manufacturing to design, healthcare, information, science, technology, engineering, software, and telecommunications.
If you think business is about uncovering your customers' "pain" and finding ways to alleviate it. Innovation is about the breakthroughs that can radically change your industry paradigm.

Innovation is crucial to the success of any organization. Companies like 3M, Abbott, AstraZeneca, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Comcast, Microsoft, Pfizer, Meta, Mitsubishi, Moderna, Netflix, Salesforce, Tesla, Zoom, and many others have been innovating and transforming continuously.

What is innovation? Innovation is the act of developing new ideas, methods, products, processes, services, and systems. Further, Innovation involves discovery, invention, design, and well-executed breakthroughs that add value to stakeholders.
For the last two years, I have been developing a course and a new book: "Innovate: Develop Your Competitive Differentiator." So I have interviewed innovators, read every book, and refereed journal articles on the subject. And I have developed an "innovation process" akin to the one I described in my McGraw-Hill book titled "The Modeling of Design Ideas" (sorry--out of print, so please consider the new book and course--an updated approach.) The current innovation course engages corporate teams in a pedagogy described at Coursewell--a website owned by Adaptiva Corp. But, soon, the innovation course will be available to individuals, firms, and organizations seeking to thrive in challenging times, and hopefully, in a university or college near you. #innovation
#innovationthatmatters #education #experientiallearning #pedagogy #traininganddevelopment #competition #innovationmanagement #innovationstrategy #leadership #bestcompaniestoworkfor2022

Walter Rodriguez 6/23/22 Walter Rodriguez 6/23/22

Building Your Home? Learn from my Experience

By Walter Rodriguez, B.S.C.E., M. Arch. Ph.D., P.E.

“To build a house. It is one of those nearly universal dreams, like falling in love. And like falling in love it is fraught with complication.” (Tracy Kidder)

For several years, I dreamed of designing and building a lovely, small but spacious house (or "Casita") near the beach in Naples, Florida, as a "relaxing, thinking, reading, and writing open space." That is a flexible living space, off-the-gate (not yet off-the-grid) near the beach for weekend retreats or intense writing days.

But first, I needed to find the correct lot and, most importantly, build a design-construction team!

With a limited budget, I set out on the almost impossible task of finding the ideal lot near Naples beaches. As expected, virtually every available lot near a Naples beach was selling for a budget-busting amount. Nevertheless, after a constant search, I settled for a small, narrow, and complex lot along the periphery of Naples Park subdivision near Delnor-Wigging Pass—one of the most pristine stretches of beach in the world.

Since it was a challenging site (lot) on a busy route to the beach, I purchased the lot for just under one-third to one-half of the price of similar lots in Naples. In addition, the lot was located in a flood zone and slightly topographically depressed in the middle (i.e., "sporadically flooded.”) I half-jokingly said: "I am buying a small pond by the beach. With a place to park my car." I had to employ a soil testing company to ensure it wasn't a sinkhole! Auspiciously, the Subsurface Soil Exploration Analysis indicated that it was adequate to allow the use of a shallow footing foundation system with slab-on-grade for supporting residence, as typical in the area.

To further complicate construction, the lot faced a busy East-West seasonal-traffic route for thousands of beachgoers and boaters. And the site fronted a churchyard with a view of non-descriptive buildings. Further, building on the entire site (rather than in the back third portion) would have required stopping or rerouting traffic due to the lot space constraints. A random thought came to mind: "Build a tiny house way in the back of the small deep-narrow lot and place two sets of front double doors facing a Spanish-style 'interior' garden as a natural noise pollution buffer.”

Nevertheless, the most complicated pre-planning activity was building the design-construction team. That is, finding contractors willing to build a small house in Naples---given the lack of large-profit-margin incentive governed by building huge and expensive residences in Naples.

After contacting several realtors, builders, and subcontractors in the area and multiple failed attempts at reaching a design-build contractual agreement, I finally decided to partner with a small builder that knew many subcontractors. The subcontractors were incredibly knowledgeable and familiar with the Naples Park area. And surprisingly, very interested in collaborating and working on building a unique, minimalistic modern home, where we would meet to anticipate costs and profit accurately. Although I had built small concrete (hurricane-proof) houses and high-rise buildings in my early 30s, I was unfamiliar with the Naples building culture (i.e., building codes and, more importantly, didn't have a network of reliable subcontractors in the area. So contracting experienced, trustworthy subcontractors was both sensible and sensical after my previous experiences with other contracting firms.

Before signing a design-build contract for the stipulated budget (less than half the average housing cost in Naples), subcontractors and I became a collaborative design-build effort: exchanging e-mails and phone calls with contractors before breakfast and late evenings and weekends. I served as the project manager and supervisor. I was making a daily visit to the site, stirring the team in the right direction, and getting lots of advice from the main contractor.

The tight schedule called for concurrent engineering (i.e., designing and building simultaneously) in a very challenging lot during the hurricane season. That could be completed before the snowbirds arrived in Naples, Florida. During construction, the building site was hit by the devastating Irma hurricane---stopping the job for several weeks and bringing brand-new complications besides the original ones mentioned earlier.

It was complicated to entice subcontractors to work on a small project. Fortunately, the team had created long-term relationships among themselves and suppliers that smoothened the challenge.

Ultimately, the multiple budgetary and logistical challenges became tremendous opportunities to design and build the desired home. Here are some of the options I saw: the Naples Park ordinances allowed building a minimum of 800 square-feet houses in the small lots, but the County fees were significant. So, building a small (1000 square feet house) was no problem. Nonetheless, the budget had to be revised due to the county’s high impact fees for new construction.

Further, the seasonal traffic would have complicated the building process. It would have been challenging to build without disrupting traffic. So building the house to the back of the site (lot) allowed construction equipment to be placed in the front without disrupting traffic. There were a few additional complications during construction, including an issue with the mezzanine. Specifically, the architectural and structural plans called for different heights in the elevations, causing the wood framer to build the mezzanine too high. Fortuitously, the framers offered to fix the problem reasonably innovatively. Building a cohesive team helped us deal with this and other situations. Using an improvised system of pulleys, they lowered the mezzanine platform to the desired high.

The house was completed on time and within budget.

In closing, I am now incorporating smart-home technologies into the house, such as an intelligent thermostat; security monitoring cameras and sensors; Amazon key for deliveries; Lighthouse A.I. virtual assistant; and Cherry home to spot emergencies, among others.

I learned that a house might be considered a living organism or system that should sense and respond, continuously growing and adapting to the inhabitants' needs and wants. And it must be maintained and nurtured. For now, I am boosting it with lush vegetation—planting environmentally-friendly ornamentals, fruit trees, and a garden of edible plants. Shortly, I will be installing solar collectors and a, perhaps, Tesla battery before the next wave of hurricanes arrives with the anticipated electrical outages and flooding. So is the sometimes-easy life in paradise and sunny Florida, unless you are building.

The biggest lesson: To build your home, first, you must build a cohesive, responsible team.

Walter Rodriguez 6/18/22 Walter Rodriguez 6/18/22

Teamwork

In my courses, I often assign team projects. And to improve teamwork in my assigned group projects, I follow the guidelines below to help our students collaborate, communicate, produce, and innovate in a collegial, respectful environment.

First, ensure the group understands and stays focused on the project's goal—be specific.

Second, provide clear metrics so that we can measure the project outcomes.

Third, often remind students about the project's priorities.

Forth, set the tone by respecting students' and team members' opinions and ideas.

Fifth, hold each team member accountable by creating a rubric that measures group and individual contributions.

Sixth, communicate and meet with each team to monitor progress and establish accountability. Seventh, be mindful and compassionate but decisive.

Below is a helpful article on teamwork.

https://www.nytimes.com/guides/business/manage-a-successful-team

Walter Rodriguez