Are We Protecting Our Kids, or Just Benching Them?
Right now, there is a massive push to just pull the plug. Ban the phones, block the AI, tell the kids to go outside and touch grass. I understand that it feels safe, like we are protecting them from the wild west of the internet.
But here is the reality we have to face: when we completely ban our kids from technology, they aren’t necessarily safe. They are just benched.
Summer School for Families
Designed for busy families, this low-prep curriculum helps parents and children learn rapidly changing technology together. It includes clear explanations and optional parent scripts. The collaborative activities are highly engaging, making them ideal to share with friends. Sample activities include:
- Paper Airplane Target Practice: Discover how AI learns through trial, error, and rewards.
- The “Robot” Sundae Bar: Master the art of writing precise “step-algorithms” by commanding a human robot to build the perfect snack.
Price: $149
Attention Schools and Microschools!
Bring the Unplugged Tech Guide to your campus! This turnkey, 4-week summer curriculum empowers mixed-age classrooms to explore AI and digital citizenship entirely screen-free. Designed for immediate use with zero prep, your teachers can dive straight into hands-on, collaborative cognitive skill-building.
Sample Screen-Free Adventures:
- Predictive AI: Decode patterns and algorithms in “The Great Graph Escape.”
- Machine Learning: Experience trial-and-error training through paper airplane iterations.
- Tech Ethics: Explore authorship and AI credit via lip-sync challenges.
- Community Building: Collaboratively draft a school-wide Digital Constitution.
School-Wide Site Licenses:
- Micro-Pod (Up to 12 students): $450
- Small School (13–30 students): $850
- Inquire for larger or multi-site pricing.
Talk, Don’t Take:
If your child child comes to you and says, “I’m being bullied online,” and your knee-jerk reaction is to take the phone away, they are unlikely to trust you in the future with critical information. We have to set up lines of communication where kids can ask for help without the threat of losing their digital social lives.
Teachers Need to Pivot:
We have to change how we teach. We can’t assign the same worksheet from ten years ago and be surprised when a student uses AI to write it. Instead, we need to teach students how to harness AI to come up with even better solutions, (And yes, there are brilliant ways to do this—which is exactly what I teach).
Build a Village:
We have to teach the next generation how to manage anxiety and depression instead of treating these as personal failures. We also need to realize that teenagers may need to talk to other trusted adults in addition to their parents. Why not line up other trusted adults—coaches, aunties, neighbors—who can be that sounding board? Let’s build a community to help raise each other’s kids.
What We’re About
EdTech Blueprint LLC provides educational consultancy services focused on digital citizenship, AI literacy, and media literacy. Founded by Dr. Melanie Valentine, the business leverages 32 years of experience within the Utah education system to support K-12 students, homeschooling families, and school leaders. The primary goal is to help learners understand the mechanics of modern technology while maintaining cognitive agency and critical thinking skills.
A core component of the service is the use of unplugged, analog activities to explain complex concepts such as algorithms, predictive AI, and machine learning. This approach allows students to build a conceptual foundation without the initial use of screens. By prioritizing these hands-on methods, EdTech Blueprint ensures that technology education remains human-centered and accessible.
The business is an approved provider for the Utah Education Fits All (UEFA) scholarship program. Services include professional development for teachers, strategic policy guidance for school administrators, and specialized curriculum design. EdTech Blueprint addresses the practical needs of the educational community by providing factual, evidence-based resources that bridge the gap between technical advancements and classroom instruction. Through this work, the consultancy prepares students to navigate digital environments responsibly and ethically.