Dr. Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw earned an Ed.D. in Distance Education from Regent, a M.A. in Counseling from Regent, and a B.S. in Elementary Education from Huntington College. She holds a professional counseling license, a school counseling license, and a teaching license. Prior to coming to Liberty University, she served as a counselor specializing in childhood emotional, social, behavioral, and developmental problems. She also previously served as a faculty at Old Dominion University in the Human Service Department. In 2009, she accepted her appointment as an Assistant Professor at Liberty in the School of Education. At Liberty, she teaches and develops quantitative research and analysis, school counseling, and educational technology courses. She also serves as the doctoral research chair and as a research consultant. Her research interests include online education, presence, Web 2.0 technology and the semantic Web, virtual worlds, and Third Culture Kids. She enjoys writing and presenting on all of these topics and often does so with her husband. For many years, she has said that she has 3 great passions -- God, her husband, and traveling-- and 3 spheres of interest -- education, counseling, and technology -- and working at Liberty allows all three passions and interests to intersect. For this she is thankful to the Lord every day. On a personal note, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Michael. They enjoy "tinkering" on their computers, creating websites and instructional content. They also enjoy the great outdoors -- hiking, biking, and running- and traveling. They have traveled both in the United States and overseas volunteering to work with diverse populations. Their travel often includes adventures- from petting Tigers in Thailand to hiking jungles in Malaysia to paragliding off mountains in New Zealand. One of their favorite vacation spots is Disney World where they get to visit both Mickey and her parents. And, they have 2 cats, Minnie and Mushu (both named after Disney characters).
ARTICLES
Leadership Lessons from Salvador Minuchin (with L.Zoe Payne and Lucinda West), The Family Journal (2011)
As cultures become more integrated through the of global networking of communication, transportation, and trade,...
Leveraging collaborative workspaces to improve the online dissertation process., Effective Practices (2011)
The Influence of Computer-Mediated Communication Systems on Community, e-Learning & Digital Media (2011)
Facilitating collaboration: Using a wiki for group projects (with Richard Silvey), Journal of Human Services (2010)
As the helping profession strives to connect individuals and encourage collaboration, the use of electronic...
Stewardship in distance education: A comparative analysis of technologies that influence student learning, Christian Perspectives in Education (2010)
Effectively facilitating the growth of learners demonstrates prudent stewardship (Galatians 6:10; Genesis 2:15). As wise...
PUBLISHED PROCEEDINGS
Discovering the Potential of e-books as Effective Learning Tools (with David E. Holder) (2011)
Electronic books have been identified as a current trend in education and are being increasingly...
Engaging Higher Education Students Through Tweeting (with Michael Szapkiw), Proceedings of Global Learn Asia Pacific (2011)
Social media such as Twitter helps engage learners and promotes interaction with course content. Twitter...
Improving Doctoral Candidates’ Persistence in the Online Dissertation Process, Proceedings of Global Learn Asia Pacific (2011)
Variables associated with doctoral attrition and distance education attrition are academic, social, and emotional. Thus,...
Motivating Students to Learn: Is There a Difference between Traditional Books and e-Books? (with David Holder and Randall S. Dunn), Proceedings of Global Learn Asia Pacific (2011)
Electronic books have been identified as a current trend in education and are being increasingly...
Students' Perceptions of Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Enhance the Social and Cognitive Aspects of Learning: Audio and Video Enhanced Wiki Texts and Second Life Discussions in Teacher and Counselor Education (with Randall Dunn and David Holder) (2011)
As a generation of technologically savvy learners enters institutions of higher education, expectations are increasing...
PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
Taking Class Disscussions and Assignments to the Next Level Using YouTube (with Aaron Traphagen) (2011)
Students enjoy viewing and sharing visual content. Visual tools, such as videos, create interaction between...
Engaging Secondary and Higher Education Students in the Learning Process Using Twitter (with Justin Tucker), Sloan-C (2011)
Effectively engaging high school students in the learning process while ensuring strong pedagogically sound instruction...
Mobile Modeling: Using and Creating iPad and iPod Apps to Shape Students With Disabilities (with Justin M. Tucker and Carolyn Wicks) (2011)
Modeling is a technique that is often used to teach new skills to students with...