Florida Tile continues to support its expanding commercial program with on-line accredited continuing education initiatives.
“In partnership with McGraw Hill, ‘Architectural Record’ and construction.com, Florida Tile now offers an expanding curriculum online,” says Sean Cilona, Director of Marketing. (Links can be found at www.floridatile.com or at www.construction.com in the continuing education site.)
“This approach allows busy professionals, including architects, designers and builders to review materials within their own schedules, take tests and submit credits for continuing education all online and directly with their affiliated associations.”
According to Cilona, “All Florida Tile courses are Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) and Sustainable Design (SD) accredited through the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Other course accreditations include the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC), Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), and Construction Education Network (CEN).
The current curriculum includes:
The “Timeless Look of Natural Stone” which helps students distinguish between different types of stones and how they are formed, discusses methods of stone finishing that results in different surface looks, explains the basics of selecting, installing and maintaining different types of stone and discusses the use of stone as an environmental choice for green buildings.
“Know Your Porcelain” defines what comprises a tile porcelain and what “Certified Porcelain” means, describes the different types of porcelain tiles and how porcelain tiles are manufactured and explains the technical specifications listed for porcelain tile in marketing materials.
“Healthy Indoor Air by Design” is a basic-level course designed to communicate the importance of indoor air quality (IAQ) and empower architects, designers and specifiers to employ strategies to improve the IAQ in the spaces they are creating. Participants will understand the impact of indoor air pollution on human health, be able to identify sources of indoor air pollutants and view several case studies of the effects of controlling versus not controlling indoor environmental quality at the design phase. Importantly, participants will learn the value of selecting certified low emitting products as a proven method for controlling VOC emissions (volatile organic compounds) that invade the indoor environment.
A fourth course is currently under development and will address why porcelain and ceramic tile are naturally environmentally friendly building products. This course will be completed and available online by the end of August.
Cilona said, “Many of these courses were developed by Florida Tile’s Dan Marvin, Director of Technical Services. Marvin has a degree in Ceramic Engineering and 20 years of experience in ceramic tile manufacturing with American Olean Tile, Dal Tile, and Florida Tile. In addition to leading Florida Tile’s Green Team, he also chairs the Tile Council of North America (TCNA) Green Initiative Committee and is a member of the Ceramic Tile Distributors of America (CTDA) Green Committee. Dan is active with the USGBC on the local and national level and has led the charge in certifying tile products under GREENGUARD and Certified Porcelain certifications.”
For more information on courses and accreditations, visit www.floridatile.com.
