Christopher Nesi, a part-time faculty member in the SC&I Digital Communication, and Media Minor (DCIM) program and a social studies teacher at New Brunswick High School, has been named Educator of the Year by NBHS.

According to the NBHS press release, Nesi is being honored for “his 14 years of dedication to shaping the future of education through technology and student-centered learning experiences.”

“Beyond his role in education,” NBHS wrote, “Mr. Nesi is a respected voice in the broader educational community, hosting and producing the ‘House of #EdTech’ podcast. This popular platform delves into emerging trends in education, featuring interviews with influential educators and technology leaders worldwide. Through his podcast, Mr. Nesi empowers educators to navigate and embrace the evolving landscape of educational technology.

“Mr. Nesi's selection as Educator of the Year, nominated by colleagues and chosen by a selection committee, reflects his profound impact on students, educators, and the school community. His dedication to leveraging technology in education and empowering educators sets a standard for excellence, paving the way for future advancements in the field.”

Nesi began his teaching journey at Rutgers SC&I in 2015. He currently teaches the courses Capstone in DCIM; Strategic Presentation Methods in Digital Media; and the summer course Leadership in Digital Contexts. He has also taught Virtual Team Dynamics and Self and Society in Virtual Contexts.

“Mr. Nesi's selection as Educator of the Year, nominated by colleagues and chosen by a selection committee, reflects his profound impact on students, educators, and the school community. His dedication to leveraging technology in education and empowering educators sets a standard for excellence, paving the way for future advancements in the field.”

“As a technology-literate person, I most definitely integrate technology into my courses which by their very nature require the use of technology,” Nesi said. “My goal is to expose students to a variety of tools that will make them more valuable as they enter the workforce and move through their journey personally and professionally.”

Congratulating Nesi, SC&I faculty member Mary Chayko, who is the director of the DCIM program, posted to X, formerly Twitter, “What wonderful news for super-educator (and @RutgersDCIM prof) Chris Nesi! So proud of you!” 

Learn more about Nesi’s career at NBHS and SC&I, and his well-known and respected podcast "House of #EdTech," in the Q&A below.

Have you always been interested in education? Why did you pursue a career as a teacher at New Brunswick High School and a lecturer at Rutgers SC&I?
CN: I knew I wanted to become a teacher around my junior year in high school. I initially wanted to be a math teacher and would have died happy teaching math, coaching baseball, and raising a family. But the universe had other plans. The math you take in college will never be taught in high school and after two years of being a math major, I needed to change my major knowing I still wanted to teach. I switched to history. There are two reasons I chose this profession. 1. My dad is a high school math teacher and I have great respect for him, and I wanted to be like him. 2. I had some amazing teachers in my life who still inspire me to this day.

I work in New Brunswick High School because they hired me at a time when I was in the thick of applying for teaching jobs and my resume was going into a pile of 300-400 other resumes, so any opportunity was a gift.

I was presented the opportunity to teach at Rutgers in late fall of 2015 because of my knowledge of technology and social media for learning and connecting. Mary Chayko gave me the opportunity to teach Leadership in Digital Contexts in the DCIM minor. I taught one section in Spring 2016, and I haven't looked back.

Do you assign class projects at SC&I and if so, which one is your favorite and why?
CN: Projects make the world go round! I am particularly proud of the revision I made to the final project in Virtual Team Dynamics. It used to be a group project that resulted in yet another poorly assembled and poorly presented slide deck. A project hardly worthy of ever mentioning again once the course was complete. I introduced an e-book as the final product. It was still a group project but when complete student can now say the contributed to authoring a book based on their research and learning. You're more likely to talk about being an author in a prospective job interview than all about the different slide decks you created in college.

In Leadership in Digital Contexts, I introduced a passion project that students work on for about 11-12 weeks of the semester. They are challenged to learn anything they want and are required to share their learning via social media. This borrows from what Google offers its employees in the form of Genius Hour. People invest one hour a week -- paid -- to work on side projects, and better themselves, and it’s yielded things like Gmail and Google Docs. It's a powerful experience for many students because for so many school has been a place since kindergarten where you're told what you're going to learn and how you're going to learn it and there is very little choice. I have many former students who are now in the workforce and attribute where they are and what they are doing to their passion projects.

How do you think students benefit from the DCIM minor, particularly those who are not majoring in communications-related fields?
CN: The biggest benefit to anyone who picks up the DCIM minor is the practical application of technology and a greater understanding of the digital world that we all live, work, and play in.

What is the most important information you strive to convey to all of your students, whether they are in high school or college?
CN: Aside from believing that all students can learn, I encourage all my students to continuously work to improve their ability to create, communicate, collaborate, and think critically. The students I work with in high school and college, regardless of what problems they want to solve in the world, will be successful if they can do those four things.

"The biggest benefit to anyone who picks up the DCIM minor is the practical application of technology and a greater understanding of the digital world that we all live, work, and play in."

Tell us about your podcast “House of #EdTech.” What inspired you to create the podcast and what do you expect your audience to gain from it? Who is your audience?
CN: In late 2013 my wife, a high school librarian and Rutgers Libraries chat Librarian, told me I should consider starting a podcast about education since I have so much to say about it. Of course, I listened to her great idea and I taught myself how to podcast. I wanted to amplify what I was doing for the teachers at my school by helping teachers worldwide through a podcast. I don't enjoy writing so blogging was out and I've yet to meet a mic I won't speak into.

House of #EdTech was launched on January 5, 2014, and in the last 10 years, I've reached educators around the world flattening the learning curve when it comes to effectively integrating technology into your classroom or school. The show has over 1.4 million total downloads and one podcast has led to so much more!

I cohost a show called PodcastPD, which is about education in general, and I also founded the Education Podcast Network, which brings together other educators who create podcasts and we support each other as educators and content creators. I also podcast about the Yankees via the Chase for 28 Podcast and I podcast with my oldest son on a show called Knock, Knock Who's There? where we tell knock-knock jokes and other funny stuff!

Learn more about the Digital Communication, and Media Minor (DCIM) program at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website. 

Image: Courtesy of Christopher Nesi