EFTA00744758.pdf

SCOPE OF WORK GOAL: To produce the substantive groundwork for a working "proof of concept" innovative interactive website dedicated to teaching young adults necessary thinking skills that can be incorporated into a standardized school curriculum, along with appropriate interactive lesson plans and programs. The groundwork will be sufficiently detailed and operational, along with a formal business plan that will allow for the raising of additional capital to complete the site, and operationally maintain and keep it fresh, so that it maximizes value to the students and community. AREAS COVERED: Sections are devoted to the following topics: Perception: Learning the basics about the human perceptual system and various perceptual blinders and filters for building up beliefs and opinions. Propaganda (or critical thinking): How to recognize and determine whether statements made in a variety of situations are valid on a prima facie basis, and the basic techniques of manipulation. Context: The importance of context and the need to examine things in depth. Scientific Method: How to test the validity of claims, what constitutes proper controls, what doesn't. Creativity and Innovation: Providing methods for eliminating mental blocks to thought, creativity, and inspiration. INTERACTIVE Each section will be largely interactive and will have many examples. There will also be an emphasis to make it fun, delightful, and surprising, along with many AHA! moments so as to carry the student through on their own accord. That this will be fun to interact with, and external pressure is not necessary to finish the program. LESSON PLANS Lesson plans will be created for teachers so that it fits within necessary teacher/student guidelines. CONTENT: Will be proprietary and will consist of all manner of media, including video and auditory components. Timeline to completion: Three Months EFTA00744758 Cost of proposal: $50,000. Management Team Al Seckel, formerly of the California Institute of Technology, is internationally recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on visual and other types of sensory illusions. He has authored over 15 books on the subject (several best- sellers, two have won national book awards (First Place (awarded twice) for Reluctant Young Readers by the American Library Association). He has lectured extensively throughout the world at many universities, Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Cornell University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, UCLA, UCSD, Berkeley, University of Rome, University of Utrecht, University of Lund, Singularity University, etc., as well as at many prestigious conferences and venues, including TED (spoke three times), IdeaCity, Nokia's Ideas Camp, Monoco Media Forum, Kinnernet, DLD in Munich, and as the Keynote Speaker at Milken's Conference on Global Leaders in Education and Innovation, and will be speaking at the World Economic Forum, Davos 2011. Seckel serves on the Board of the Pete Conrad Foundation, Blue World Alliance, and the Los Angeles ] Mayor's Clean-Tech Kitchen Cabinet. He is a member and contributor to John Brockman's Third Culture Group, The Edge, a by-invite only group of internationally known thinkers and achievers. He was also a member of the American Academy of Achievement, which mentors gifted children in the U.S. He was also the Executive Director of the Ocean X Prize for the X Prize Foundation, and has many years consulted for the MacArthur Foundation. Seckel had his own popular science column in the Los Angeles Times, but it was discontinued when they dropped the science section. Seckel is passionate about education, and especially thinking skills, innovation, and creativity, and developing ways to teach students how to think rather than just what to think. Recently, he moderated a panel with Arianna Harrington (Huffington Post), Jon Klein (President of CNN), Caprice Young, Peter Hirshberg (CEO, Conversation Group) on the topic: "Are We Transitioning from an Age of Information into an Age of Misinformation? And, if so, what can we do about it." He is a former teaching assistant to Carl Sagan, and was a very close student and friend of the late legendary Nobel physicist Richard Feynman and Murray Gell- Mann. He is also the founder and President of a successful private consulting company: The Super Smart Consulting Network. For people who don't just want smart, they want the super smart. Caprice Young is a Venture Partner at Revolution Learning. She is also the President and Chief Academic Officer at City Prep Academies, a Revolution Learning portfolio company. Prior to joining Revolution, Caprice was the CEO of KC Distance EFTA00744759 Learning (known by the brands Aventa Learning, iQ Academies and The Keystone School), which was recently acquired by K12, Inc. She had also served as Vice President of Business Development and Alliances at Knowledge Universe. A nationally respected education reformer, Caprice was the founding CEO and President of the California Charter Schools Association. Under Caprice's five-year leadership, the number of California charter schools grew by more than 300 and student enrollment grew by more than 100,000. Previously, Caprice served as a member and President of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. Her career has included numerous leadership roles in business, higher education and government. She also has served on numerous boards, including the Governor's Advisory Committee on Education Excellence (California), the Fordham Foundation, Chime Institute and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, among others. She is a recipient of the Coro Foundation Crystal Eagle Award for Achievement in Public Service. Caprice earned her bachelor's degree from Yale University, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and her Doctorate of Education from the University of California, Los Angeles. Neil Jacobstein is the first President of Singularity University. He is a Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Stanford's Media X Program, and became a Senior Research Fellow in the Reuters Digital Vision Program at Stanford University in 2006. He has served as a technical consultant on research and development projects for leading business, government, and defense organizations including GM, Ford, FMC, M, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Applied Materials, NSF, DARPA, NASA, NIH, EPA, DOE, the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force. He was CEO at Teknowledge Corporation, an early AI company. Since 1998, Jacobstein has reviewed technical papers on the Program Committee of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence's (AAAI) Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI) Conference. He co-chaired AAAI's 16th Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference, and chaired the 17th IAAI Conference. In 1999, Jacobstein was selected as a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He has moderated many Socrates seminars, and has co-chaired the Socrates Program Committee for several years. Jacobstein was a Graduate Research Intern in the Learning Research Group at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, and a consultant in PARC's Software Concepts Group. He spent four years doing renewable energy and environmental research as a Research Associate with the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems. Jacobstein has been Chairman of the non-profit Institute for Molecular Manufacturing (IMM) since 1992. He has served in a wide variety of executive and advisory roles for industry, nonprofit, and government organizations. Jacobstein continues to give lectures, EFTA00744760 seminars, and workshops worldwide on the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. He is a member of AAAS, AAAI, IEEE, and the ACM. EFTA00744761