There’s a shift happening in how technology is being talked about in education.

Questions around screen time, student well-being, and the role of EdTech are becoming more visible. At the same time, educators are still navigating the day-to-day reality of using these tools to support learning, manage time, and stay effective in the classroom.

That tension is creating a more layered conversation.

Elana Leoni sits down with educator, author, and Ditch That Textbook founder Matt Miller, a voice that resonates widely with teachers and regularly collaborates with education brands. Together, they unpack what is actually happening beneath the surface, from how teachers want to be supported to how technology and AI are showing up in real classrooms.

The conversation centers on a core question that continues to evolve. What is the true role of EdTech, and how do we ensure it stays grounded in teacher and student learning?

Well, hello friends. Welcome back to another episode of All Things Marketing and Education. This episode is one that for the first time, we actually had people emailing in wanting to know when this guest was coming on the show. Like no joke. I mentioned that our guest today, Matt Miller, on our last podcast, and I talked about one of his LinkedIn posts and said he might be coming on the show and the fandom began. So that was exciting for me.

I personally wanted to have Matt Miller on the show. Matt Miller is a practicing educator of 10 plus years. He's an author. He's the person behind the Ditch That Textbook movement slash brand, which talks to hundreds of thousands of educators. But I wanted to have him on more than that because he has this perspective on he works alongside so many education brands regularly. So he's in that classroom, the depth of the classroom.

but at the same time he gets to collaborate with education brands who are trying to engage and reach educators. But more selfishly, I wanted to get his take on this no screens and no ed tech movement that's going on, that is keeping me up of like, what the heck is going on? And I know he had a ton of opinions on it. We were emailing back and forth. He's like, I can't wait to get on the show. So we do talk about that for sure. He does not disappoint with.

the feelings he has and the nuance he brings to the conversation. It all gets us back to that holy grail question on what is ed tech's true purpose and how can we continually center it on teacher and student learning. Sometimes we forget about the teacher learning and the teacher productivity and effectiveness and professional development, but that is super important. But what works at what stage in what grade levels, all of these things are coming up.

with this movement, which I think is good healthy conversation. We also get into teacher appreciation. And for those of you who are teachers listening, I just want to thank you for everything you do, whether it's in the classroom, for the community, engaging with parents, engaging with brands, all of the things you do. I think teachers are the most humblest, humblest. I know that sometimes I have a

somebody on my team, calls it umble because she is from the south, but they are the most humble humans I've ever met and they do so much. So from the bottom of my heart, the bottom of my agency's heart, just know that we're sending you love all of the time and thank you for everything that you do.

So like always everybody, at the end we have the lightning round and I am throwing questions at Matt left and right so he can give us some quick phrases, gut reactions, and he talks about one technology that's simultaneously overhyped but also underused. So enjoy the show and let me know what you think. Take care.