Biography

As Director of Learning Design at Western Governors University, Maria Andersen leads the university’s instructional design by creating innovative learning strategies to ensure seamless, intuitive, and engaging curriculum. After years of experience in higher education, Dr. Andersen transitioned into the development of learning software by developing educational games for learning algebra. Dr. Andersen left higher education to spend three years in the software world, first working for Instructure (Canvas) leading the course designs 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 also holds degrees in math, chemistry, business, and biology. You can find Maria online at busynessgirl.com or @busynessgirl on Twitter.