Chris Aviles is a STEM teacher at Monmouth Beach middle school in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey where he runs the renowned MB Makes program and Dolphins esports team. He is also the founder of Garden State Esports, New Jersey’s non-profit scholastic esports organization for students, run by teachers.
Chris has won numerous teaching awards and has been featured in places like ABC News, NBC News, EdWeek, CNET, Scholastic, Times for Kids, EdSurge, Upworthy, and Tech & Learning magazine. He is the author of two books: The Edcorps Classroom and The Esports Education Playbook. You can always keep up with Chris on his blog TechedUpTeacher.com.
Chris Aviles is a teacher at Monmouth Beach middle school in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey where he runs the renowned MB Makes program and Dolphins esports team. He is also the founder of Garden State Esports, New Jersey’s non-profit scholastic esports organization for students, run by teachers.
The MB Makes program is Monmouth Beach school district’s 21st century life, innovation, and careers program for 3rd to 8th graders. In MB Makes, Chris use social entrepreneurship for real, relevenat learning. Students find problems and sell solutions as they start real businesses that turn a real profit. Through their success students have the opportunity to give back to their community.
Part of the MB Makes program includes the Dolphins Esports team. As coach of the Dolphins, Aviles and his players take on all comers including other middle schools, high schools, and colleges. To help other schools in New Jersey bring esports and all its benefits to students, Chris founded a nonprofit Garden State Esports.
Chris is also a recovering high school English teacher. Before coming to Monmouth Beach, Chris taught high school English for ten years. It was back then that Chris stopped whole class instruction and started blending learning. To further engage and motivate his kids, Chris turned his classroom into a video game using Gamification, Game-Based Learning, and yearlong Alternate Reality games.
It was at this same time that Chris decided to document his evolving pedagogy on a blog. So in 2013, Teched Up Teacher was born.
Chris is passionate about the crossroads where education and technology meet because he has seen the amazing things that can happen when you tech-up teaching. Chris is considered an expert in Gamification, Game-Based Learning, Passion Projects, Project-Based Learning, School Gardens, Blended Learning, Esports, Makerspaces, and Entrepreneurship in the classroom. He holds a Masters in Educational Technology from Boise State, is the founder and President of Garden State Esports, a North American Scholastic Esports Federation Mentor and Community Leader, and Google Certified Innovator!
Chris has won numerous teaching awards and has been featured in places like ABC news, NBC news, PBS, EdWeek, CNET, Scholastic, Times for Kids, EdSurge, Upworthy, and Tech & Learning magazine. He is the author of two books: The Edcorps Classroom and The Esports Education Playbook. You can always keep up with Chris on his blog TechedUpTeacher.com.
Chris would love to come to your school and put on a workshop or speak at your event.
Feel free to contact Chris if you have any questions, need some advice, or just want to say Hi!
Still Curious? Check out some of Chris’ greatest hits below.
