Ep 97: Dr. Bryan Alexander on Researching the Future

On this episode, Katie is joined by Bryan Alexander, an internationally known futurist, researcher, writer, speaker, consultant, and teacher, working in the field of how technology transforms education. He completed his English language and literature PhD at the University of Michigan in 1997, then taught literature, writing, multimedia, and information technology studies at Centenary College of Louisiana. From 2002 to 2014 Bryan worked with the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE), a non-profit working to help small colleges and universities best integrate digital technologies.

In 2013 Bryan launched a business, Bryan Alexander Consulting, LLC. Through BAC he consults throughout higher education in the United States and abroad. Bryan also speaks widely and publishes frequently, with articles appearing in venues including The Atlantic Monthly, Inside Higher Ed. He has been interviewed by and featured in MSNBC, US News and World Report, National Public Radio, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the National Association of College and University Business Officers, Pew Research, Campus Technology, and the Connected Learning Alliance.

He is currently writing Transforming the University in the Twenty-First Century: The Next Generation of Higher Education for Johns Hopkins University Press (forthcoming 2019). His two most recent books are Gearing Up For Learning Beyond K-12 and The New Digital Storytelling (second edition) .

Segment 1: Working as an Independent Researcher [00:00-20:13]

In this first segment, Brian shares about how he came to work as an independent researcher.

Segment 2: Research on the Future of Higher Education [20:14-34:41]

In segment two, Brian describes his research as a futurist.

Bonus Clip #1 [00:00-09:57]: Researching an as Alternative Academic

Bonus Clip #2 [00:00-03:44]: Dealing with Loneliness as an Independent Researcher

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The views expressed by guests on the Research in Action podcast do not necessarily represent the views of Ecampus or Oregon State University.