An exploration of innovation and creativity in learning kicked off Saturday with the inaugural PROJECTHINK Conference. The SRQ Media-led event brought academic and nonprofit leaders together to discuss how to inspire more ingenuity among students and in the wider world. 

At the event, hosted at Ringling College of Art and Design, speakers dove into the science of innovation. Dr. Cyndi Burnett, an associate professor at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State, says not enough is done in education to make students explore possibilities as opposed to memorizing answers. “Instead, a teacher could give a curiosity quotient for the day,” she says. Creativity is a skill, she said, and instructors should challenge students to improve that like any other skill. PROJECTHINK was followed by the first SRQ KidsFest, where attending students participated in crafts focused on hands-on learning and opening creative thinking pathways.

That spoke well to what some sponsors hoped for in the event, namely exploring ways to evolve education to meet the needs of students growing up in a world where creative thought will drive the economy. “PROJECTHINK is about trying to imagine how to best educate the students of the 21st century, not the students of the 19th century,” said Larry Thompson, Ringling College president. 

Keynote speaker Nathan Schwagler, co-director of The Dali Museum Innovation Labs, led exercises for PROJECTHINK attendees to think of experiences spurring their own creativity. He brought lessons from Salvador Dali himself, inviting people to, when they draw a figure, “begin with the big toe” and to constantly think of new ways to approach problems. He brought other metaphors as well, talking on a firefighting team that fled from a forest fire but perished because they were unwilling to try new solutions or even to dump their backpacks when they had to flee the scene. “You’ve got to stop and analyze a situation,” he said. “Our tools, drop them if they no longer serve us, and roll with some new ones if you need them.”

Jacqueline Lloyd Smith led the group in Lego Serious Play, asking attendees in under a minute to assemble bricks into a duck, then comparing the varied ducks, then talking neighbors through the reassembly of the animals. Lloyd Smith spoke with SRQ later about how gamification and the interjection of play into learning and working spaces has spurred creative thought.

Dr. Cameron Camp, director of research and development for the Center for Applied Research in Dementia,spoke of how lessons in education can impact other real-world situations. Using repetition and interaction in his presentation, he talked of how Montessori teaching methods can be used to help dementia and Alzheimer’s disease patients to strengthen memory skills and retain functionality. “The best way to learn a skill is to practice a skill,” he said.

And Janice Francisco, CEO of BridgePoint Effect, encouraged attendees to explore their own tendencies when it comes to innovation, whether they were “developers” unweaving complex processes or “ideators” brainstorming masses of fresh ideas. “When we know our thinking preferences,” she said, “we can start to engage in creativity and innovation much better.”

Jennifer Vigne, executive director of the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, said the promotion of creativity will be critical for students embarking on life in an ever-changing world. “We need to prepare students for jobs not in existence yet,” she said. “We need to bring to center stage the role creativity brings to this process.” 

The Sarasota City Commission unanimously voted to retain Bill Robertson, CEO and personal injury attorney with Kirk Pinkerton, PA, and Steven W. Teppler with the Abbott Law Group to represent the City of Sarasota in a lawsuit to recover damages related to the opioid epidemic. The attorney team will file a lawsuit in federal court with the Middle District in Tampa, FL. against as many as seven or more major pharmaceutical manufacturing companies and their distributors. The duo is taking the case on contingency, meaning the city will not incur any expenses unless recovered during the lawsuit. Lawsuits like these are not uncommon across the country—between 2003-07, approximately 1,400 individual lawsuits were filed in the U.S. with another 3,600 prepped for litigation. During discovery in the previous litigation, it was revealed that manufacturers cited biased medical studies to support claims that opioid addiction was rare. These companies allegedly hired pain management experts and doctors to promote use of opioids and provided kickbacks and other incentives to promote use. Manufacturers also purportedly created and funded a medical-front group to publish and promote false research and information about the drugs and published articles stating that opioid use was non-addicting. Currently more than 70 states, cities and counties have filed lawsuits related to these claims. In 2016, Robertson and Teppler represented the City of Sarasota and pursued the oil spill claim against BP, recovering $3 million for the city. 

Kirk Pinkerton

The City of Sarasota has launched a redesigned website with an emphasis on mobility, search options and streamlining information. With the new look, comes a new url: SarasotaFL.Gov. City staff worked extensively with website designer Vision Internet, which has overhauled many municipal sites, including the City of North Port, City of Venice and Sarasota County. The new website is designed to allow for immediate changes to spotlight important, time sensitive information, which will be especially useful during an emergency, such as Hurricane Irma. The previous City of Sarasota website was in existence for six years and needed modernizing to keep up with technology and how users interact with a website. 66 percent of users access the City of Sarasota website via a desktop computer versus 34 percent with a mobile device. These numbers are expected to invert in the coming years. The City of Sarasota website receives a significant amount of cyber traffic with a daily average of 5,000 unique page views and over 1 million unique page views per year. During Hurricane Irma, the number of daily visits more than doubled to 12,000. 

City of Sarasota

Manatee County Building and Development Services Department (BADS) customers will soon be able to do business with the County without ever having to visit County offices. On Feb. 27, BADS will offer Online Services, a new web-based tool that offers all BADS services online. Customers will be able to remotely submit applications for permitting, licensing, planning and zoning. They will also be able to track a project’s progress from submittal through final approval from the convenience of a connected home computers or mobile device. As the department prepares for the transition, BADS offices will close at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 21, and for the entire day on Monday, Feb. 26. In addition, the current online permitting and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems will be down from Feb. 21-26. Prior to the new Online Services, BADS will offer several opportunities for local contractors and customers to learn how to use the new system from instructor-led classes to online videos and quick reference guides. 

Manatee County BADS

“When I walked into Boca, it reminded me of California cuisine: healthy, innovative and delicious“ — Diane Stabile. The competition for Best New Restaurant was intense last year, with Veronica Fish & Oyster and Lila both coming in close behind Boca Kitchen, Bar, and Market. What new restaurant has struck your fancy this year? Vote for your favorite in the 2018 Best SRQ Local Competition now!  

Vote Here!