The Nerds
Meet the team:
Our Story
EdTech Nerds comes from a split history.
On one side, we have a teacher who had been in the classroom for over 20 years and ended up experiencing the burnout that so many face every day. After experiencing what it was like to move into the coaching role, the classroom, and all the extras that come with it, became too much.
On the other, we have a tech director with over 20 years on the job that has been through countless cycles of implementation and abandonment, trying to prove the value of the tech, and ended up fixing printers all day.
In coming together to creat EdTech Nerds, Destiny and Kris have taken their extensive history and leveraged it to build a teacher-focused community focused on preventing burnout through mindfulness and improving efficiency, efficacy, and creativity.
Kristofer Thurston
Chief Technology Nerd
Technology Director, Fixer of the Broke, Herder of Cats, Untangler of Wires, Semi-pro Yoga Model.
After 22 years in Education Technology, I’ve learned that CHANGE is the soul of the game. Starting with computer labs, moving through 1:1, into BYOD and beyond, change is the only thing that remains constant. I believe that change is now taking us back to the concept of 1:1, but this time, it means something completely different.
Through the purposeful use of the right technologies, teachers can focus on building relationships, meeting each and every student where they’re at, driving engagement and empowering life-long learners, with a goal of every student feeling like they have a 1:1 student to teacher ratio in every class.
Recently completed a 3 year term as the Technology Chair on the Prince of Peace Catholic School Advisory Committee.
Currently serving as the Director of Technology at John Paul II High School.
Destiny Wagner
Chief Education Nerd
I am an educator with over 20 years experience as both a classroom teacher (physics) and an instructional technology coach. With a proven record of creating and delivering professional development, presenting at numerous national conferences, and focusing on staff wellness, my goal is to leverage my expertise to help educators succeed in achieving their objectives while maintaining an effective work-life balance and to overcome the struggle with burnout that has become all too common in recent years.
Google Certified Educator Levels 1&2, Campus Technology Specialist, TCEA Course Creator, Slytherin Prefect, Reality Based Self Defense Instructor, RYT-200 Yoga Teacher
Our Mission & Approach
Through mindfulness and the judicious application of technology to pedagogy, we will help teachers be more efficient and effective, flex their creativity, and grow their community.
Our primary focus is the front line, the teachers in classrooms. Everything we do is to improve the lives of those who deliver the goods day after day.
But, we don’t stop there. Teachers can’t do it all on their own. So we’re also here to help support staff, coaches, administrators, and school and district leadership so they can stay aligned to your mission, providing better support for the classroom.
The teacher’s job is to be Students First. It’s our job to be Teachers First!