Great Falls College MSU Hosts Extended Learning Institute

GREAT FALLS COLLEGE MSU HOSTS EXTENDED LEARNING INSTITUTE

Great Falls, MT—This year’s Montana University System Extended Learning Institute will be held at Great Falls College MSU. The conference will take place Monday, March 14, and Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Great Falls College is located at 2100 16th Avenue South in Great Falls.

This year’s Extended Learning Institute (XLI) will feature Dr. Maria Andersen as the Keynote presenter. Dr. Andersen is the Director of Learning Design at Western Governors University. After years of experience in higher education, Dr. Andersen transitioned into the development of learning software by learning to prototype games on paper, and then developing educational games for learning algebra. She has two learning apps available for download on the Apple Store. Dr. Andersen then left higher education to spend three years in the software world, first working for Instructure where she lead the course design for a MOOC platform, and then focusing on the design and development of adaptive learning products for Area9 Labs / McGraw Hill Education. Dr. Andersen’s Ph.D. is in Higher Education Leadership, and she holds other degrees in math, chemistry, business, and biology.

In addition to Dr. Andersen’s presentation there will be breakout sessions spread throughout campus over the course of the conference. Each of these interactive session topics will relate back to one of three focus areas of the conference, which are: accessible universal design, eLearning classics, or gamification and innovation.

The Theme ‘Make Learning Fun’ will be heard loud and clear throughout this year’s XLI conference. When asked why the theme was chosen, Laura Wight, Division Director of eLearning and Library Services at Great Falls College MSU said “It’s about fun. When a student can have fun in their learning environment they tend to be more engaged and successful learners.”

Those attending the XLI conference will be representing numerous higher education institutions around Montana. “This is a great opportunity for colleges and universities to see and learn new and exciting ways to deliver education,” said Wight.

You can register in advance for the XLI conference, or at the event itself. Registration at the event will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 14, 2016 at Great Falls College MSU.

To learn more about the Extended Learning Institute or to register go to: http://xli.gfcmsu.edu, or contact:

Laura Wight
Division Director—eLearning and Library Services
Phone: (406)771.4318, Email: [email protected]

Lewis Card
Executive Director—Development, Communications and Marketing
Phone: (406)771-4412, Email: [email protected]