Published in the Independence Daily Reporter May 2020

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas 

Before getting into today’s topic, I’d like to say that, other than working on a plan to re-open Fab Lab ICC, I (fortunately) have very limited involvement with the difficult job of our ICC administrators and board members in trying to figure out how to lead the college through this unprecedented situation. So, my comments here come after observing what’s going on in higher education over the last few years through the upcoming fall semester. 

Someone posted on Facebook the other day, “Many universities are going to be online only in the fall. Why not save a bunch of money and get your general education (gen-ed) courses out of the way at a community college and save hundreds if not thousands?” 

Indeed, the situation with the pandemic has been and is so fluid that many higher education institutions, especially the larger ones are trying to figure out whether or not they can safely offer on-ground, in–person classes this fall or settle back for the less risky online offerings. 

Online Learning Marginally Effective 

Contrary to what we are sometimes led to believe, online learning is rarely as effective as in-person classes, especially if there is any kind of lab or hands-on learning involved. Even though I’ve never been a full-time instructor, I’ve conducted enough online and hybrid (combination of online and in-person) classes over the last fourteen years to observe that whether speaking of traditional college students or non-traditional adults, there are few people who do well with online learning content. It has to do with the fact that there are eight or ten different ways people learn and only about one of them allows for optimal online learning. 

Admittedly, the larger universities face a tough challenge. It seems to me the risk of spreading Coronavirus is much higher on densely populated college campuses and in large, packed lecture halls. So, the decision of whether to offer in-person classes is much bigger in a large institution than in a smaller community college. The statement above asks a valid question. Why would anyone pay a large university the normal rate in tuition and fees to do strictly online learning when you can “get your gen-eds out of the way” much cheaper at a community college. There’s a problem however, with viewing community colleges only as a cheaper way to “get your gen-eds out of the way.” 

Community College Offers Richer Experience 

It is unfortunate and inaccurate that many in our society continue to view community colleges only as a means to “get your gen-eds out of the way.” Some view community college as the consolation prize you accept when you didn’t get accepted or receive a scholarship offer from a four-year school. But really, community college, especially at smaller schools like ICC, offer traditional college students a much richer educational experience during their first two years than nearly any of the larger 4-year schools. 

No matter which of the eight or ten learning styles, people learn by doing. When we can learn by doing in smaller environments, with direct help from readily available instructors—not graduate student teaching assistants—everyone can learn more and have a much more enjoyable experience while doing so. Couple that with opportunities to participate in art, music, theater, sports, and maker activities, community college students have more opportunities to enjoy learning in ways not often possible on the larger campuses. 

Community College Offers Unexpected Benefits 

A “few” years ago, when I was graduated from Satanta high school in southwest Kansas, I was all set to go to Kansas State University; even sent in my dorm deposit. I loved music and looked forward to being in a stage band at K-State. The band director from Garden City Community College came to see me. He said “Yes, Kansas State is a great school. You can probably get into one of the twenty or thirty stage bands there and you might get to play half the music. If you come to Garden City, you can be the bass player in the only stage band, and you can play every song. I’ll give you a presidential scholarship.” I took him up on his offer and it was a great experience. Small classes with lots of hands-on learning. I ran for Student Government president and became editor of the student newspaper, opportunities that I would never have had at Kansas State. 

We all need to stop thinking of community college as the consolation prize, but rather as a way to greatly enrich the learning experience, much more than just a means to “get your gen-eds out of the way.” 

 

Jim Correll can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Fab Lab ICC or Independence Community College. Archive columns and podcasts at jimcorrell.com. 

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter May 2020

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas

Many people, associated with Independence Community College, will remember Odalis Martinez. A native of Venezuela, she came to ICC to play volleyball with only a suitcase and $170 borrowed from family and a stranger. She had never flown on an airplane nor been outside of Venezuela. She knew no English. She asked all of her instructors to put her assignments in writing so she could use Google to translate them into Spanish. She completed each assignment in Spanish, then used Google to translate into English. Today, her writing in English is among the best of college student writing, even compared to those for which English is their native language. We got acquainted with Odalis when she came to work in the Fab Lab as a work-study.

After a few months, while still learning English, Odalis joined Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), the world’s largest academic organization for community college students after answering a misunderstood question. In a conversation with other PTK members, they asked if she would like to join. She thought they were asking if she was enjoying her stay in America and at ICC. She said, “Yes, very much.”

At my suggestion, she took the Entrepreneurial Mindset class and says it gave her the courage to run for international office in PTK; president. Although she lost by a slim margin, she spoke to and met hundreds of students from around the world. She says now, she’ll never be afraid to take an opportunity because of her shift in thinking from the Mindset class.

She went on to Mississippi State University (MSU), receiving scholarships and sometimes working two jobs while being a full-time student. She was recently graduated and will be attending Hult International Business School in Boston in the fall. Is she apprehensive about attending such a large school in such a large city? Yes, but remember, she learned never to be afraid of a new opportunity.

Since graduating from ICC she has asked me on a couple of occasions to write letters of recommendations or complete questionnaires on her behalf. I’m always happy to oblige. Odalis is one of the most remarkable young people I’ve ever met so I’m happy to help her in any way I can. Such was the case when she sent me this questionnaire a few days ago. Fortunately, it had only one question. As I pondered my response, I have to think that if, in addition to any necessary technical skills, everyone possessed these four aspects of professionalism, the world would be a far different place.

What are your expectations of professionalism for staff and colleagues?

To view problems as opportunities

Problems are really opportunities awaiting solutions. Everyone is in the business of solving problems whether for customers or for one or more employers. Those learning to be innovative problem solvers in all aspects of our lives will be the best and brightest in the marketplace while enjoying a great sense of fulfillment.

To use empathy

Being empathetic is to fully know and understand the problem to solve from the user perspective. We come up with better solutions when we “walk in the shoes” of the ones for which we are trying to solve problems.

To have a growth mindset

Those with a growth mindset understand that we must prepare ourselves for life-long learning through experience and that experience, including the mistakes along the way, are the best teachers. Constantly increasing and adding to our knowledge provides more of the essential raw materials for continuous innovative thinking.

To build strong relationships

All truly great leaders say that the ability to build strong relationships is an essential component of problem-solving ability. Trust goes a long way in building mutually beneficial relationships, and we build trust by doing what we say we will do.

Odalis Martinez is well on her way to developing these four elements of professionalism. I’m eager to watch her continue her journey. She says one day she’d like to become president of Venezuela so she can “fix the country.” Those of us that know her know that she is likely to do just that.

 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.

 

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter April 2020

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas

Add to the list of casualties during this pandemic the summer youth programming at Fab Lab ICC. The boot camps we co-sponsor with Greenbush have been postponed and the Verizon Innovative Learning (VIL) STEM Program for middle school girls has been paused. I asked Joanne Smith, Verizon STEM camp director and owner of Fab Creative Services and SEK Living Magazine (SEKL), to write a bit about Verizon’s difficult decision to pause the camp followed by excerpts of a recent SEKL article summarizing the STEM program and what it means for these girls.

“In a normal year, springtime would find us spreading the word and gearing up for a new year in the VIL Girls’ STEM Program at Independence Community College and Fab Lab ICC. We would be processing applications from eager students, ordering equipment and supplies, and planning for the intensive three-week summer camp that kicks off the program year.

One of Twenty Community Colleges

The annual program is funded by the Verizon Foundation, which has made a long-term commitment to support youth STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education for underserved populations – both boys and girls – including children in lower socio-economic environments and rural communities with less access to opportunities. ICC and its Fab Lab were accepted into the program in 2017 and are among approximately 20 community colleges nationwide who have received grant funding specifically to provide STEM education for rural girls. The underlying goal is to help close the “digital divide” between males and females and help more girls develop an interest in STEM careers. Summer camp is followed by monthly Saturday workshops throughout the school year, September-May.

Again, in a “normal” year, the excitement would be building for our third year of participation in this exceptional program – an opportunity so unique for our area and so impactful that 100 teen and pre-teen girls from all over Southeast Kansas and beyond are actually motivated to jump out of bed on a summer morning to study math and science. A program where they can have unfettered access to new technology – augmented and virtual reality, coding and circuits, 3D design and printing – and where they can learn concepts in entrepreneurship and design thinking. At summer camp, they can learn to problem-solve and have the opportunity to design their own creative solutions to real-world problems, big and small. It’s an environment where innovation is limited only by imagination, where girls learn from mentors and professional role models, where friendships are forged, and confidence is built.

More Than Cool Technology

“The STEM program experience is more than the fun of discovery of cool technology and the satisfaction of learning to do new things,” said Fab Lab ICC Director Jim Correll. “It offers the girls a view of the possibilities of a future they have not seen previously.”

It’s eye-opening for the girls and gratifying for program instructors (hand-picked from ICC, area elementary and middle schools) and parents of the students to witness the transformation. Girls come out of their shells at STEM camp, thanks to the opportunity to learn new things.

One mom, Tammy Mishler, who resides in Conway Springs, Arkansas but has brought her two daughters faithfully for two years to participate in summer camp and monthly workshops throughout the school year, said her girls have enjoyed learning the technology used in the program, and it has helped them develop new interests.

“The VIL program has been a fantastic opportunity for my girls to learn more about STEM,” Tammy said. “I have noticed both of my girls show more interest in STEM, and one of them is now really into robotics.”

Keeps Girls Learning During Summer

She also noted, “This program keeps my girls learning during the summer and not sitting in front of screens all day.” Yet another benefit of the three-week summer camp is it provides a positive outlet for the girls’ energy (and believe me, they have a lot of it) and gives them an agenda on out-of-school days when, as teens and pre-teens, they might be spending their timeless constructively.

As icing on the cake, the girls have the opportunity to experience life on a college campus (they love eating lunch in the dining hall) and experiment with the other technology available at the Fab Lab. And by the way, the entire program – bus transportation, breakfast and lunch, instruction, take-home gifts, and more – is entirely free for participating girls and their families. The only investments required are time, attention, and a willingness to learn.

Pause Button Pushed…For Now

Those are the “normal” expectations. But, as we all understand all too well, 2020 has evolved into anything but a normal year. The global pandemic has brought an abrupt halt to life as we know it. It has caused the premature ending of our current STEM program and canceled the 2020 summer camp/program kick-off. With student and staff safety of utmost concern, the Verizon Foundation made the very difficult decision to push the pause button…for now.

While the 2020-2021 girls’ STEM program will not happen, the hiatus will provide an opportunity for the Verizon organization and our local team to regroup and plan even more innovative and creative ways to deliver STEM education a year from now. Just like many of the other missed activities and opportunities we mourn today in light of our restrictive situation, the STEM program will be back. We will bring it back safely. We will bring it back with enthusiasm. And, no doubt, we will bring it back with girls who have a new perspective on what it means to solve real-world problems.

I’m excited to see the future through the eyes of our new recruits. Stay tuned for great things to come.

Joanne Smith, Owner, FAB Creative Services, LLC, and Southeast Kansas Living magazine.

 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.

 

Published in the Independence Daily Reporter April 2020

Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas

While our economy is on “paused” due to COVID-19, let’s rethink and revitalize capitalism with a new priority.

The ad started off with “We’re making changes to make things right.”  This was a television ad campaign a couple of years ago for a large American bank.  You may remember, or have been a victim of, their practice of creating millions of new bank accounts for their customers in order to meet sales quotas and win internal sales contests.  The only problem was the individual customers did not know of or approve the creation of these new accounts in their names.

The ad continued by listing the three changes being made to make things right.  (Cue the running horses pulling a stagecoach through the Western countryside for dramatic effect.)

• Fully refunding those impacted
• Proactive new account confirmations
• Elimination of product sales goals (putting your interests first)

Really?  Accounts should never be created unless initiated by the customer.    Goals should always have been to put first the interests of the customers, not to see how many accounts could be opened.

Changing Capitalism’s Bad Name

This story serves as a perfect example of what has given capitalism a bad name over the last one-hundred-fifty years or so since the advent of the industrial revolution.  For this entire period, profit was made the primary goal.  Customer service and the rest of it all took a back seat.  The results have led to unwise and inefficient use of natural resources and inequitable exploitation of labor that resulted in an unhealthy competition between business and labor unions.  We created an education system in support of this profit-priority capitalism that we’re just now starting to convert to a system that will produce the best innovators in the world instead of laborers willing to work in repetitive, non-creative environments.  Traditional business and entrepreneurship curriculum supports this idea that profit is the primary goal.  This is the reason I don’t like or use traditional business or entrepreneurship curriculum.

It’s not that profit is bad; it just shouldn’t be the primary goal. Here’s our message to today’s entrepreneurs and business owners.  The primary goal of a business should always be to provide the best solutions and services, always putting the customers’ needs first.  If you do that in the right way, people will gladly pay you for these solutions and thus, provide the profits you need.   All the successful businesses I know, concentrate on providing excellent services while charging enough to be profitable.  That’s a big difference in philosophy; one that leads to great customer loyalty and plenty of profitability.

Early Economy Was Small Business

The economy of the early decades in America was made up of craftsmen and women in small shops, offering handmade goods. Quality was high but so were the prices. The advent of large factories in the 19th century introduced an economy of scale to production making goods and services available to people of modest means. If I run a small shop selling handmade goods, I’m going to want the quality to be good because I know word of mouth and repeat customers are my future. If I own a “sweatshop” where goods are mass-produced, I don’t even know the end (retail) customer. I start thinking not so much about quality, but about how I can reduce the cost of production, making more money. Over time, the mindset of the economy’s producers shifted from one where quality and usefulness were priorities to a mindset where profit was the priority.

That shift to profit as the number one goal is what has given capitalism a bad name. It led to the unhealthy exploitation of workers, natural resources, and even customers. It’s time to shift our thinking and emphasis away from profit as the number one goal to a primary goal of providing something useful and desirable in the marketplace while respecting and appreciating the labor of others and being good stewards of the natural resources required to make products that are useful.

Let’s Make Offerings Exceptional

The emphasis on providing useful and even exceptional goods and services is essential for small businesses to survive and grow, especially in a post-COVID-19 economy. This emphasis is the hallmark of initiatives such as Gary Schoeniger’s Ice House Entrepreneurship Program, Jon Schallert’s Destination business strategy, Network Kansas E-Community, and Kansas Main Street.

While we’re on “pause” with millions of small business owners trying to figure out how to survive until customers can come back let’s all try to figure out how to make our products, services, and offerings so useful and so exceptional that once customers can get back out, they won’t be able to resist.

 

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.