Part of the Reinvented Classroom - Masters Series Webinar

This Welcome Keynote is open to all TMN members.  You are registering for the Keynote session only to the Masters Series. 

Click here for more information on The Reinvented Classroom Masters webinar and how to access all 8 sessions of the live full-day event, recordings and resources. 



Why is it that one-in-seven people on the planet smoke when they know that it will shorten their life-span? It just makes no sense!

Behavioral economists have uncovered a number of bias-bugs in our human self-ware that cause us to act irrationally when deciding upon a particular course of action. These biases cause our species to unconsciously engage in self-destructive behavior that costs us dearly in both blood and treasure.

In this keynote session, Dr. Tony O’Driscoll will challenge us to recognize and neutralize the biases we collectively hold about what it means to teach and what it means to learn. He will argue that it is our long held and rarely questioned beliefs and assumptions about the classroom that are the primary perpetrators in limiting our ability to reimagine how a new and powerful wave of technologies can positively alter the global learning landscape.

If we do not overcome the blindness of our own biases as educators, history is destined to repeat itself with an all to familiar narrative: As the next wave of disruptive technologies such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence arrives on the learning scene, we will initially reach a Peak of Inflated Expectations about its potential to change everything. Then, this fleeting euphoric glimpse of false hope will - once again - lead us to the Trough of Disillusionment where we will wonder - once again - “How did it all go so wrong.” Over time, we will eventually arrive at the Plateau of Productivity wearily wondering how we achieved so little to advance learning when we hoped to so accomplish so much.

The challenge with Reinventing the Classroom has very little to do with technology and everything to do with psychology. If we truly wish to achieve the step-change in learning that breakthrough technologies can deliver we must begin by rewiring our thinking about the role that the classroom might play in the future of learning.

Tony O’Driscoll is Global Head of Duke CE Labs, and Lecture Fellow at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. This dual-role affords Tony the opportunity to operate at the intersection of cutting-edge academic research in business and the design of groundbreaking leadership development interventions. 

During his 18-year corporate career, Tony held several strategic leadership positions. He was a founding member of IBM Global Service’s Strategy and Change consulting practice where he consulted at the highest level with business executives on creating a sustainable competitive advantage in increasingly complex environments. He also served as a member IBM’s Almaden Services Research group where he investigated the changing roles of leadership, innovation, and collaboration as enterprises become more global, virtual, open and digitally mediated. At both IBM and Nortel Networks, Tony had responsibility for crafting and implementing enterprise-level human performance and learning strategies.

Tony has authored and co-authored articles for business periodicals such as Harvard Business Review, The Financial Times, Strategy and Business, CLO Magazine and Dialogue. He also writes a regular column for Training Magazine entitled “Learning Matters.” Tony has also published two books on Organization Performance and Learning: Achieving Desired Business Performance, and Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration.

Tony’s current research and practice examine how rapidly emerging technologies are disrupting existing industry structures and business models. He specifically focuses on how to develop leadership systems that enable organizations to adapt and evolve in increasingly unpredictable and turbulent business environments.