Challenges of the 21st Century

What are the trends and driving forces that will shape the way we live, learn, work and do business in the decade ahead? James Morrison, founder and editor of On the Horizon, responds to this question by summarizing the trends, driving forces, and supporting data in five key sectors (social, technological, economic, environmental, and political) from the Futures Planning Database on Horizon Home Page. He concludes with the implications of these driving forces for education, and suggests what educational leaders should do now to prepare for the threats and opportunities inherent in these implications. This presentation was last given at the annual meeting of the World Future Society, Washington, DC, July 1996.

Integrating Information Technology into College and University Instruction 

Many faculty members find it difficult to take the time to integrate information technology tools into their teaching, or they are not comfortable with their competency to do so. In this session, Professor James Morrison, editor of Technology Tools for Today's Campuses, describes and illustrates how faculty members have incorporated the WWW, browsers, desktop applications, discussion forums, and electronic mail to enhance student learning. This presentation was last given at the conference, Building an Educational Experience Through Applications of Computer-based Technologies, sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Stout, St. Paul, MN, November 1996.

Technology and Learning in the 21st Century

This presentation focuses on the changing environment of higher education, using technology to enhance learning, and the issues involved with integrating technology into instruction (e.g., changing tenure, merit, and promotion policies, faculty workload, changing roles of professors). This presentation was given at the University of Kansas on October 7, 1997, in a two-screen format. Each screen is available for download and viewing here: screen one and screen two.

Higher Education in the 21st Century

Colleges and universities are being bombarded by tumultuous forces for change--global communications, virtual classrooms, telecourses, corporate classrooms, a highly competitive global economy, increased competition among social agencies for scarce resources, pressure for institutional mergers, state-wide program reviews and so on. What are other signals of change that will affect the future of higher education? How can we interpret these signals to plan more effectively as we reinvent our institutions? How many leading edge higher education institutions be organized and function in the 21st Century? This presentation was last given at the annual Reinventing Higher Education conference, sponsored by Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, July 1997. An alternative version of this presentation, titled "Anticipating the Future of Higher Education" was given at the SCT Summit '98 Conference in San Diego, CA, March 1998 and an updated presentation with readings was given at the University of Kansas October 12, 2000.

Transforming Higher Education Through Networked Learning

The external environment of higher education is changing. Globalization is resulting in economic restructuring requiring extensive worker retraining. The US is experiencing an echo boom; an increasing number of young people are demanding entrance to higher education. The Information Age requires increasing numbers of knowledge workers who have technological competency. Networked telecommunications makes communication around the world fast and easy. How will these forces transform the academy? Transform the professorate? This presentation was given June 25, 1998 as part of the Web Initiative in Teaching, an 18-month-long activity sponsored by the University System of Maryland's Institute for Distance Education enables faculty teams to develop and deliver pilot Web-based courses.

Higher Education in Transition: Lessons from the American Experience
Presentation at the American University of Cairo
March 4, 2007

This presentation is based upon an article published by Professor Morrison in On the Horizon, where he argues that U.S. higher education is in a major transition period that will fundamentally change the way American colleges and universities will conduct their business in the coming decades. Although change in social institutions is seldom rapid, the combined forces of demography, globalization, economic restructuring, and information technology are forcing US institutions to reconceptualize their markets, organizational structures, and pedagogical practices.

After the presentation, a select panel of Egyptian educators will comment on the likelihood that these same forces will affect higher education in the Middle East in much the same fashion as Professor Morrison forecasts for American higher education.