Author Archives: Bryan Alexander

A cruel pedagogical exercise I inflicted upon my students

Posted on March 24, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

Several weeks ago I conducted a cruel pedagogical experiment. The class topic that day was mobile technology.  I wanted to get students thinking about how mobility allows us to shake up learning spaces, but didn’t want to convey they idea … Continue reading →

Posted in teaching | 1 Comment

The college admissions/athletics scandal gets parodied

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

The recent college admissions/athletics scandal continues to roll on, with commentary, revelations, firings, and denunciations rippling across the land.  But for now I wanted to draw attention to jokes about it. The Onion poked at the college sports angle with … Continue reading →

Posted in humor | 1 Comment

How do people use digital, social media? A new Edison survey

Posted on March 18, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

How do people actually use technology?  This line of inquiry is vital for anyone remotely interested in education and technology, as well as for those of us investigating the future of education.  It’s important to get good data on real-world … Continue reading →

Posted in technology | 5 Comments

Thoughts on the latest college admission and athletics scandal

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

This week the FBI arrested a bunch of wealthy people and their helpers for corrupting the admissions process of several elite colleges and universities.  As the Washington Post put it, the alleged perps were “part of a long-running scheme to … Continue reading →

Posted in higher education | 1 Comment

Which nonfiction book should our book club read next?

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

What should our online book club read next? Yes, it’s voting time! Our topic for this reading: nonfiction that informs us about the futures of education and technology.  There are sixteen (16) titles on deck. (If you’re new to the … Continue reading →

Posted in book club | 6 Comments

When a government takes the future a bit more seriously

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

What does it look like when a government takes the future seriously?  Can states create formal foresight positions? One example might be found in Wales, which just appointed a Future Generations Commissioner.  Sophie Howe’s job is: to be the guardian … Continue reading →

Posted in futures | 1 Comment

An academic accreditor looks at higher ed’s horizon

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

I think what’s happening right now in Vermont is a crisis in higher education.  There’s no doubt about it… I’m just back from a week in Australia.  It was a very productive time, and also delightful as Oz always is.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in horizon scanning | Tagged | 4 Comments

Another small American college will close

Posted on March 4, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

My most recent blog post had the grim title of “casualties of the future.”  I wrote about how American higher ed is experiencing problems and losses as it seeks to change from one historical stage to another. And now there’s … Continue reading →

Posted in enrollment | 12 Comments

Casualties of the future: college closures and queen sacrifices

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

For years I’ve been thinking about ways of explaining higher education’s present and future.  My peak higher education model is out there, for example, notorious and grim. Beyond that, I wonder if we should think of our time as a … Continue reading →

Posted in horizon scanning | Tagged | 18 Comments

From the country towards the city

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Bryan Alexander

One of the oldest story themes concerns differences between cities and the countryside.  My wife and I have been carving out a story on that ancient terrain over the past few weeks as we moved house from the small, very … Continue reading →

Posted in personal | 5 Comments