Jonathan D. Becker, J.D., Ph.D.

Education

• Ph.D. in Politics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
• J.D./M.Ed. from Boston College Law School and Lynch School of Education, Boston College
• B.A. in public policy studies, Duke University

Research interests

• Distance education in higher education
• Digital equity in education
• Legal and policy issues as related to technology in education
• Critical policy analysis

Selected publications

Gogia, L. & Becker, J.D. (2016). Universal Design Through Openly Networked Connected Learning. In L. Scott & C. Thoma (Eds.). Universal Design for Distance Education: A Guide for Online Course Development. Ann Arbor, MI: XanEdu.

Becker, J.D., & Barkley, C. (2013). Building social capital through social media: School leaders’ use of social media for professional learning. In. Militello, M. & Friend, J. (Eds.), Principal 2.0: Technology and Educational Leadership. Charlotte, N.C.: Information Age Publishing.

Mann, D., Reardon, R. M., Becker, J. D., Shakeshaft, C., & Reich, M. R. (2012). Engagement in an online video simulation in educational leadership. In P. Blessinger & C. Wankel (Eds.), Cutting-edge technologies in higher education. Volume 3: Increasing student engagement and retention using immersive interfaces: Virtual worlds, gaming, and simulation.

Becker, J.D. (2008). The Digital Horserace: An Analysis of differences in student computer use across the states and across the years. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 39(3), pp. 285-312.

Bio

After graduating cum laude from Duke University with a B.A. in Public Policy Studies in 1994, Jonathan Becker received a law degree and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Boston College Law School and the Boston College Graduate School of Education in 1997. Additionally, in May of 2003, he earned a Ph.D. in the Politics of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. From September 2002 to August 2007, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Foundations, Leadership and Policy Studies in the School of Education and Allied Human Services at Hofstra University. After moving to Virginia Commonwealth University where he served as an assistant professor of educational leadership from 2007-2012, Becker became the director of innovation and online academic programs. Having done that from 2012 through 2017, he is now back in the Department of Educational Leadership at VCU as an associate professor.

Becker’s expertise lies clearly at the intersection of education, technology and law/policy, and he teaches courses in school law, the politics of education, educational technology and school leadership, and educational research methods. In collaboration with school law experts Dr. Scott McLeod and Dr. Justin Bathon at the University of Kentucky, Becker developed a set of multimedia tutorials on legal issues in education for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Additionally, he has published articles and presented to various audiences on the use of social media by educational leaders. Most recently, Becker co-authored a book chapter with Dr. Laura Gogia on Universal Design Through Openly Networked Connected Learning.

Curriculum Vitae