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Expert Inquiry

Open Sans

Shifting Schools From Strategy to Foresight: Infusing Educational Leadership With Futurist Thinking, Planning, and Action

Societal Reorientation via Programmable Trust: A Case for Piloting New Models of Open Governance in Education

Beyond the Public-Private Nexus

Walter Balser is a clinical assistant professor whose scholarship examines the changing education ecosystem through the lens of decentralization. He explores how networks of agencies, nonprofits and private capital are reshaping schools, governance and leadership. His work connects digital acceleration with tensions between natural and rational, control and freedom, and how open source concepts might foster adaptability in naturally distributed systems. He is the founder of the Foresight Leadership Lab and author of the Recod/Ed framework, guiding leaders to revisit assumptions and reimagine the “source code” of schooling as we chart a path forward in an era of AI and continued, unstoppable demands for autonomy and choice.

Artificial Intelligence

Leadership Development

AI & Education

Public-Private Partnerships

Organizational Behavior

Foresight Leadership in Education

Education Ecosystems

Emerging Technology & Schools

Decentralized Governance

Blended capital and schooling

K–12 School Reform

Open Source Models and relation to Education

Faculty Page

Personal Website

It'll Take More Than Joes to Get Us Through This AI Mess

What hackers can teach schools about thriving in a decentralized reality

What LinkedIn Taught Me About Being 'Just A Teacher'

Walter Fernando Balser

Clinical Assistant Professor

With investment and innovation in K-12 schools at an all time high, there has never been a better time to get into education—and to be a teacher!  Perhaps the only thing holding back youth from choosing this career is a false perception that teaching offers a singular career path with 30 years in the classroom.  But nothing could be further from the truth!  It’s time for a fresh take and a new perspective on the future of teaching!

Walter Fernando Balser is the Founding Director of the Open Partnership Education Network (OPEN) at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. OPEN is a new “open source learning” framework designed to improve collaborations between thought leaders and institutions in the community—making us a smarter, better connected city learning together. As a Dean Fellow at Boston University, Walter’s research focused on partnerships in learning brought through the immense influx of new capital into the K-12 sector, which incidentally lies at the heart of a transformative and exciting education job market for youth. He is a soon-to-be graduate of Boston University, and a graduate of Columbia University, Ohio State University, the University of Florida, and St. Petersburg College. He is also a proud teacher.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Sparking the Next Generation of Teachers | Walter Balser | TEDxUSFSP

Media Inquiry