We are thrilled to share our conversation with Emily Cherkin, a.k.a. The Screentime Consultant. Emily shares her journey from being a middle school educator to now a fierce advocate for families and schools to be more tech-intentional. Emily started to notice a shift in education when, as a teacher, she was expected to use an online portal to communicate with students more than having in-person discussions. After her then kindergartener came home with a note asking for him to learn “ctrl+alt+delete” on the keyboard to take standardized testing, she turned into an accidental activist. Jordan shares her struggles with getting people involved locally, and Emily talks through the challenges she has faced in her own advocacy work. Emily describes what being tech-intentional means (spoiler alert: it doesn’t mean being anti-tech) as well as explaining the difference between ed tech and tech ed. Emily talks about how schools should be evaluating the potential use of any ed tech platforms by asking these four questions: Is it safe? Is it effective? Is it legal? Is it better? We talk about how the tide is turning as many states across the country are implementing bell-to-bell smartphone policies. Helen and Emily discuss their current experiences with teaching in higher ed and how to have discussions with future educators about the impact of technology on the profession. We talk about how we have to protect childhood and how these discussions are not anti-tech but pro-childhood and pro-learning.

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Visit thescreentimeconsultant.com to access the UnPlug EdTech Toolkit and connect with Emily.

Subscribe to Emily’s newsletter at substack.com/@emilycherkin.

Sign up for Emily’s free webinar on March 9, 2026: It’s time to talk about EdTech.

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Emily Cherkin, M.Ed., The Screentime Consultant, is leading the fight for a Tech-Intentional™ childhood. Emily works with schools, families, policymakers, and advocacy organizations to ensure the future of education prioritizes skills, safety, and relationships over screens, EdTech, and A.I. Emily is an author, speaker, consultant, and associate professor of public policy at the University of Washington. She is also co-chair of FairPlay’s Screens in Schools Action Network and the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against one of the largest EdTech companies in the world. Emily is also the creator of the UnPlug EdTech Toolkit.