National Guest Speaker: Anthony G. Picciano, PhD, Hunter College of the City University of New York

Drew Faust, the former president of Harvard University in a message to the World Economic Forum in 2015, described three major forces that will shape the future of higher education:

1. The influence of technology
2. The changing shape of knowledge
3. The attempt to define the value of education

While Faust presented three key elements in higher education's future, it is the interplay of these elements that will become most crucial in predicting its future.  Will technology drive the shape of knowledge and the definition of value or will it be the other way around?   Techno-centrists see technology ass the driver while others who look at higher education holistically see technology as a tool serving the needs of the other elements.

The main focus of the presentation will be on higher education's digital future.  Critical issues examined will include evolving technologies, pedagogical practice, the role of college faculty, the ascendency of instructional design by independent contractors, and the role of online education in promoting changes in institutional missions and strategies.  The presentation will begin with a review of the present state of online education in our colleges and universities and move to a speculation on the near future (2020s) and more distant future (2030s and beyond) and will explore the roles of emerging technologies such as adaptive learning, brain-machine interfaces, and artificial intelligence on instructional practice.