Hacking the University: Will Tech Fix Higher Education?

New America Foundation
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
8:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

If 2012 was the year of the Massive Open Online Course, according to The New York Times, 2013 was something of a reality check. MOOCs were meant to give people all over the United States (and the world) access to the best lecturers and classes from some of America's top universities. But their first iterations have been beset with problems--lack of student engagement, high dropout rates--leading critics to question their long-term value. MOOCs highlight the usual trajectory of new technologies that are supposed to transform education: big promises, followed by the trough of disillusionment, and a return to the status quo. So, what's next for technology in higher education in 2014 and beyond? Should we just give MOOCs some room to grow? Does big data have the answers? And anyway, is college even the best option in the tech economy?

Agenda

8:45 a.m. Registration

9:00 a.m. What's Wrong with the Old-School?
Kevin Carey
Director, Education Policy Program, New America Foundation

9:15 a.m. My First MOOC
Robert Wright
Author, Nonzero
Senior Future Tense Fellow, New America Foundation

9:30 a.m. What Can We Expect From Tech in Higher Ed?
Adrian Sannier
Chief Academic Technology Officer, Arizona State University Online

Robin Goldberg
Chief Marketing Officer, Minerva Project

Jeffrey Selingo
Author, College (Un)Bound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students Contributing Editor, The Chronicle of Higher Education
Professor of Practice, Arizona State University

Moderator:
Robert Wright
Author, Nonzero
Senior Future Tense Fellow, New America Foundation

10:15 a.m. Hack 1: Get Government Money out of Higher Ed
Bryan Caplan
Professor of Economics, George Mason University
Author, the upcoming The Case Against Education

10:25 a.m. Hack 2: Cracking the Credit Hour
Amy Laitinen
Deputy Director, Education Policy Program, New America Foundation

10:35 a.m. In the Tech Economy, Does a Degree Still Matter?
Bryan Caplan
Professor of Economics, George Mason University
Author, the upcoming The Case Against Education

Michael Gibson
Vice President for Grants, Thiel Foundation

Leng Lee
Head of Operations, Codecademy

Moderator:
Katherine Mangu-Ward
Future Tense Fellow, New America Foundation
Managing Editor, Reason

11:20 a.m. Hack 3: Radically Improve Math Preparedness for College
Adrian Sannier
Chief Academic Technology Officer, Arizona State University Online

11:30 a.m. Can Tech Fix the Inequalities of Higher Ed?
Hal Plotkin
Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education

Naomi Davidson
Education Partnerships, Higher Education, Khan Academy

Tammy Wincup
Chief Operating Officer, EverFi

Moderator:
Kevin Carey
Director, Education Policy Program, New America Foundation

To RSVP for the event:
http://newamerica.org/events/2014/hacking_the_university

For questions, contact Kirsten Holtz at New America at (202) 735-2806 or holtz@newamerica.org

If you are unable to attend in person, please tune in to the live webcast. No signup is required to view the streaming video.

Join the conversation online using #hackhighered and by following @FutureTenseNow.