What IF .... we create a citizen learning network that

• engages children, youth, students to develop learning materials for themselves and their peers, a dynamic, media-driven approach to learning (inspired by Jacques Cousteau);
• involves scientists, engineers, and thought leaders with diverse perspectives as learning mentors, encouraging their debate and alternative views;
• designs a University of the Future for us all, reaching beyond Ivory Towers, breaking down disciplinary silos;
• engages the collaborative intelligence (C-IQ) of citizen scientists and reporters, using the latest smart-phones, social networking, cloud computing services and tools;
• links regional development media hubs into innovation networks for economic revitalization and collaboration toward environmental sustainability;
• Asks big, timely questions so we can learn from the past to design the future?

What if?  questions and grand challenges network thought leaders, scholars, entrepreneurs, children, youth, people in different locations with different perspectives, coming from different disciplines, fostering debate and broad participation. We’ll harness social networks for learning, gathering a range of perspectives on what to do about each What if? to produce a knowledge-rich, popular, interactive program series for television, Internet and smart-phones. What if? encourages people to self-organize and collaborate, using the latest IT systems and tools to solve problems and create new opportunities to

connect ::: learn ::: solve ::: share

in an evolving framework for action-oriented learning and collaboration, transforming learning from passive memorization and test-taking to active collaboration and mastery, a revolution in global learning and collaboration using the latest learning methods and IT systems. A series of What ifs belong in the innovative learning programs of the future.

What IF?
1. .... we synthesize life? terraform Mars? mimic termite intelligence?

2. .... we develop capacity to design and manufacture at the quality of nature?

3. .... we implement bioengineering technology that backfires, replicating in ways we cannot predict? Or genetic engineering produces viral replicators?

4. .... megacities in developing nations collapse into unrest and chaos, leading to massive migration?

5. .... clean tech, biofuels, smart systems, and new capacities for collaborative decision support emerge to play critical roles in preparing for climate change?

6. .... traditional Ivory Towers and modes of publishing, lacking agility to engage our collaborative intelligence, stand aside as the wisdom of crowds, the young, the unemployed and retired, bridge generations to fuel the innovation revolution?

Citizen Scientists and Citizen Reporters team with scientists at NASA, NOAA, universities and other scientific labs explore What IF? recognizing great ideas from diverse sources (young, retired, amateur, professional), attracting creative participation to revitalize education, the economy, and the environment, as citizens raise their C-IQ (collaborative IQ) implementing new systems to improve learning, health care, business, politics, and eco-sustainability.

Asking questions, and implementing responses on the cloud, promotes innovation as citizens build businesses, schools, nonprofits and social networks that make a difference, creating dynamic databases to support further learning experiments, so that all citizens around the world can learn, connecting quickly and cheaply through cloud services and smartphones.

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