Digital entrepreneurship is about much more than just building an online business; it’s a set of skills and mindsets that prepares students to thrive in a digital world. With so much of modern life taking place online, today’s students need to learn how to create, manage, and share digital content responsibly and effectively. Digital entrepreneurship teaches them to go beyond passive consumption, empowering them to develop ideas, produce content, and connect with audiences. For middle school students especially, these experiences can foster creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking as they learn to navigate platforms, manage digital projects, and gain confidence in presenting their own ideas.

Incorporating digital entrepreneurship in school settings offers practical, hands-on experiences that students can apply immediately and carry forward into future opportunities. Using school websites and social media channels as platforms, students can develop content, promote events, and even produce video or podcast series. These activities help them learn skills such as social media management, content creation, and project planning while providing them a real audience to engage with and learn from. By giving students the chance to experiment with digital tools and build their own initiatives, digital entrepreneurship education equips them with essential skills for a world where online presence is key to personal and professional success.

Podcasting

Podcasting is a form of audio storytelling that allows people to share ideas, news, or discussions with an online audience. It’s a great way to communicate topics of interest and reach listeners across the globe. To get started, podcasters need some basic hardware like a good-quality microphone and headphones, and software like Open Broadcast Studion to record your content onto your computer. We use the Rodecaster Pro II setup on an Apple iMac.

 Developing podcasting skills teaches valuable communication, planning, and technical abilities, helping people learn to present their ideas clearly, work with audio equipment, and create engaging content—a skill set that’s increasingly valuable in today’s digital world.

Digital Music Production

Digital music production is the process of creating music using digital tools and software, enabling users to compose, edit, and produce songs from start to finish on a computer or tablet. One popular tool for this is GarageBand, a beginner-friendly digital audio workstation (DAW) that offers a full suite of music creation tools. In GarageBand, users can arrange loops—short, pre-recorded pieces of music like drum beats or instrument riffs—which can be layered and combined to create unique tracks. The Drummer feature provides a virtual session drummer, allowing users to customize a drum pattern that complements their song’s style, making it sound more dynamic and polished. GarageBand also supports MIDI(Musical Instrument Digital Interface), which allows users to input music from a keyboard or other MIDI controller, giving them control over a wide range of virtual instruments. Together, loops, Drummer, and MIDI make digital music production accessible and engaging, helping users create everything from simple beats to fully arranged compositions with ease.

Digital Video Editing

Digital video editing is the process of cutting, arranging, and enhancing video footage to create polished and engaging visual stories. DaVinci Resolve is a powerful and versatile software widely used for video editing, offering professional-grade tools for beginners and experts alike. With its user-friendly interface, DaVinci Resolve allows users to edit clips, add transitions, and incorporate effects to bring their vision to life. It features advanced color correction tools to adjust the look and feel of footage, as well as an intuitive timeline for seamless audio and video synchronization. Users can also explore its Fusion and Fairlight tabs for visual effects and professional audio editing. By learning DaVinci Resolve, individuals gain essential skills in storytelling, creativity, and technical precision, equipping them to produce everything from social media videos to cinematic projects.

Front-End Web Development

Front-end development is the process of creating the visual and interactive aspects of a website or app that users see and engage with. CodePen.io is an online platform that makes front-end development accessible and collaborative, allowing users to write and test HTML, CSS, and JavaScript directly in their browser. It’s a fantastic tool for beginners and professionals alike, offering a live preview of code changes, which makes learning and debugging faster and more intuitive. CodePen also provides a community-driven environment where users can share and explore “pens” (code snippets) for inspiration or learning. By practicing front-end development on CodePen.io, students and developers can improve their coding skills, experiment with new ideas, and build an online portfolio of projects to showcase their creativity and technical abilities.

Content Creation with OBS

Open Broadcast Studio (OBS) is a free, open-source software widely used for creating and streaming digital content, making it an essential tool for aspiring creators. Learning OBS equips users with the ability to record, edit, and broadcast high-quality video content for platforms like YouTube, Twitch, or social media. Its intuitive interface allows creators to combine video, audio, graphics, and text in real-time, giving them control over their content’s presentation. OBS also supports features like scene transitions, screen capture, and overlays, enabling users to produce professional-looking videos without expensive equipment. By mastering OBS, individuals develop valuable skills in content creation, technical setup, and audience engagement, laying the groundwork for careers in digital media, live streaming, or online education.