What the last technological revolution can teach higher ed leaders about the current one.
As seen in
Keynote
"We've Been Here Before: What the Last Technological Revolution Can Teach Us About the Next One"
Campus leaders are being asked to make consequential decisions about generative AI right now — before the applications are clear, before best practices have emerged, and before anyone knows where this is heading. The pressure to act is real, and so are the risks.
This talk gives leaders a framework for thinking clearly amidst that uncertainty. David draws on a historical parallel he witnessed firsthand: the internet's arrival on campus in the early 1990s. Reflecting on lessons learned during that transition, this talk gives leaders tools they can use immediately — not to predict the future, but to make confident decisions right now about how to leverage AI to fulfill the mission of higher education.
What audiences take away
Keynote
"Open Education in the Age of Generative AI"
For over a quarter century, the open education movement has pursued a single goal: increasing access to educational opportunity. From the very beginning, the primary tactic for accomplishing this goal has been creating and sharing open educational resources (OER) — freely licensed educational materials that grant users permission to engage in the 5R activities.
However, materials powered by generative AI are even more effective at increasing access to educational opportunity than fixed, one-size-fits-all OER like open textbooks. As AI transforms the world around higher ed, the open education movement has to grapple with a critical question: How do we combine the power of generative AI with the principles of openness to finally achieve what OER alone never could? This talk offers a framework, together with concrete examples, for doing exactly that.
What audiences take away
From North America to Southeast Asia, David has spoken to campuses, associations, and organizations around the world.
From flagship research universities to regional institutions, leaders book David when the stakes are high.
"I had the opportunity to hear David speak at a statewide conference in Virginia about Open Educational Resources. In his closing remarks, he observed that an entire degree could be built using open educational resources, eliminating the cost of textbooks. That idea ignited a sense of possibility and a bold vision at Tidewater Community College. With David’s guidance, we brought that vision to life. It was one of those rare moments in a career when you realize you were exactly where you needed to be—listening to exactly the right person. I remain profoundly grateful for David’s vision and its lasting impact on students."
"David's inspiring keynote at Open Ed Live gave our global audience exactly what many educators needed: a thoughtful way to connect the rapid rise of generative AI with the long-standing goals of open education. He helped more than 900 attendees see AI not as a detriment to our work, but as a powerful opportunity to ask better questions about access, agency, affordability, ethics, and student learning."
David is an Associate Professor at Marshall University and Co-Chair of the university's AI Steering Committee. He teaches courses in Entrepreneurship and Management Information Systems. David has received several recognitions for his work, including a National Science Foundation CAREER grant and appointments as a Nonresident Fellow in the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School and a Peery Social Entrepreneurship Research Fellow in the BYU Marriott School of Business. He's founded or co-founded numerous entities including Lumen Learning, Degreed, and Mountain Heights Academy. In 2009, Fast Company named him one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business.
David was born and grew up in West Virginia, where he currently lives with his wife Elaine and four of their five children. You can learn more about David at davidwiley.org.
David speaks primarily at higher education conferences, association convenings, and campus leadership events.
