Digital Literacy & Media
Programs for Middle School
Two programs. 12 classes each. Book 4, 8, or all 12 weeks — whatever fits your students and your schedule. Built from 14 years of real industry experience, not a textbook.
Middle schoolers are using AI to write their homework, falling for gaming scams, and spending 5+ hours a day on screens — without a single class that teaches them how any of it actually works. BAM’s programs give them both: the critical thinking skills to navigate the digital world safely, and the creative skills to actually build something in it. For principals, that means one vendor, two programs, flexible scheduling, and measurable outcomes.
Tweens ages 8–12 average 5+ hours of daily screen time (Common Sense Media, 2024) · 26.5% of students experienced cyberbullying in the past 30 days, up from 16.7% in 2016 (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2023) · Creative classroom activities produce 82% greater student engagement (Adobe Education, 2024)
Choose One. Or Run Both.
Each program has 12 classes and stands on its own — or they run together across the school year with different classes or the same class in different semesters.
Digital Literacy & AI Program
12 Classes · Book 4, 8, or 12 WeeksTwelve standalone classes covering online safety, AI ethics, cyberbullying, screen time, digital entrepreneurship, scam detection, and career exploration. Book the package that fits your schedule.
- Smart With Screens & screen time balance
- AI Smarts — ethics, fact-checking, academic integrity
- Guard Your Info — passwords, 2FA, phishing
- Digital Citizenship & cyberbullying response
- Online entrepreneurship & personal branding basics
- Scam detection, content creation & career exploration
Digital Creators Program
12 Weeks · Blog + Newsletter + CanvaA 12-week advanced creative program where students build a personal brand portfolio AND produce a real school publication using WordPress, Canva, and Gmail.
- Class WordPress blog — students contribute posts in their own voice
- School newsletter sent to all school emails via Gmail
- Original Canva graphics for real school events
- Rotating editorial roles — editor, writer, designer
- Capstone Showcase with Digital Creator Certificate
- All accounts handed over to school at program end
Book What Fits Your School
The Digital Literacy & AI Program has 12 classes total. Schools choose how many weeks to run based on their schedule, budget, and student needs. Every package uses the same high-quality curriculum — more weeks simply means more depth and more classes covered.
Focused Introduction
Perfect for schools with limited time, a specific topic to address, or who want to pilot the program before committing to a full semester. Choose the 4 classes most relevant to your students.
- ✓ Pick any 4 classes from the full curriculum
- ✓ 1 session per week, 45–60 min each
- ✓ Great for after-school or advisory periods
- ✓ Pilot option before a full booking
Core Program
The most popular option. Covers the most critical digital literacy and AI topics with enough time for real discussion, activities, and student reflection without overwhelming the schedule.
- ✓ 8 classes across safety, AI, citizenship & wellness
- ✓ 1 session per week, 45–60 min each
- ✓ Fits a half-semester block or elective slot
- ✓ Pre/post assessment included
Full Semester
The complete experience. All 12 classes delivered in sequence — building a full picture of digital literacy, AI, safety, entrepreneurship, and career readiness across an entire semester.
- ✓ All 12 classes, full curriculum coverage
- ✓ Deepest skill-building and retention
- ✓ Ideal for a dedicated class period or elective
- ✓ Capstone project + post-program report
Program 1 · Digital Literacy & AI
12 classes · Grades 6–8 · Book 4, 8, or 12 weeks
12 Classes. Mix, Match, or Run All of Them.
Each class runs one session (45–60 min). Schools on the 4-week package choose any 4; the 8-week package covers classes 1–8; the full 12-week program runs all of them in sequence. Full curriculum sent with every proposal.
Smart With Screens
Healthy tech habits, screen time balance, and recognizing when technology is affecting mood, focus, or sleep. Covers the multitasking myth, notification management, and early warning signs of unhealthy tech use.
AI Smarts for Students
Practical AI uses — summaries, brainstorming, studying — alongside ethics, accuracy checks, and when AI should not be used, especially for schoolwork. Students learn to fact-check outputs and think critically.
Guard Your Info Like a Boss
Passwords, 2FA, phishing, and digital trails. Students learn how their online choices affect future opportunities, how to spot suspicious activity, and how to report it confidently.
Being a Good Digital Citizen
Respect, tone, empathy, and responsibility online. Deep dive into group chats, conflict, and permanence of online behavior — plus how to advocate for yourself and support peers being targeted.
Building Your Online Business Brain
Early entrepreneurship — digital products, small services, beginner branding. Students explore how ideas turn into income and how to test simple concepts safely and ethically.
Creative Content With Confidence
Safe self-expression online — videos, photos, writing — while protecting privacy and mental health. Content ownership, copyright basics, fair use, and managing social media comparison culture.
Spotting Scams & Digital Tricks
Scams targeting middle schoolers: gaming scams, fake giveaways, impersonation. Red flags, right responses, and how to support friends who may have been targeted — without shame.
Your Future in a Digital World
Tech-related careers and certifications students can prepare for now. Students build a personal roadmap connecting current strengths to real digital career paths — no pressure, just possibilities.
Algorithms, Attention & You
How recommendation algorithms are designed to capture attention — and how to reclaim it. Students learn why they can’t stop scrolling, how platforms profit from their time, and how to engage intentionally.
Truth, Lies & Everything In Between
Misinformation, deepfakes, and AI-generated content. Students practice identifying manipulated media, understand why false information spreads, and develop habits for verifying what they see before sharing.
Mental Health & the Digital Self
The connection between social media use and self-esteem, body image, and anxiety. Students explore the gap between curated online personas and real life — and build strategies for protecting their mental health online.
Using Tech for Good
Capstone class. Students reflect on their digital choices, present their Personal Digital Action Plans, and explore how technology can be a force for community, creativity, and change — not just consumption.
Not sure which package to book? The 8-week Core Program (classes 1–8) covers the essentials most middle schoolers need. The 4-week intro is ideal for a pilot or after-school setting. The full 12-week semester is the complete experience. We’ll help you choose during the planning call.
Request a ProposalProgram 2 · Digital Creators Program
12 weeks · Grades 6–8 · WordPress + Canva + Gmail
Students Don’t Just Learn About the Internet. They Publish on It.
A 12-week advanced digital media program where every student contributes to a living class blog and helps produce a real school publication — two deliverables that outlast the program.
Class Blog & Personal Voice
Weeks 1–8 · Individual + SharedStudents contribute posts to a shared class blog — choosing their own topics, writing in their own voice, and designing visuals that reflect their perspective. The blog lives on after the program ends.
- Class WordPress blog — students publish with their own voice
- Canva graphic identity — header, profile, post graphics
- Professional About page written by each student
- 3+ published posts per student on the class blog by week 8
What They Leave With
School Publication
Weeks 5–12 · CollaborativeThe class collectively produces a real school publication — a newsletter distributed to the entire school community via Gmail, and a shared class blog accessible to parents and students anytime.
- Class newsletter sent to all school emails via Gmail
- Shared class blog — teachers and students contribute
- Rotating editorial roles — editor, writer, designer
- Original Canva graphics for real school events
What the School Gets
Three Units. 12 Weeks. Real Work Every Step.
Each unit builds skills that feed into both the class blog and the school publication simultaneously — students are always working toward something real.
Finding Your Voice on the Class Blog
Students choose their own topics, learn to write for a real audience, and publish their first posts to the shared class blog. Lessons cover catchy headlines, strong openings, transition words, and peer editing. The class blog goes live by week 4 — accessible to parents and students anytime.
Launching the School Publication
Students shift from individual blog posts to collaborative publishing. They analyze real newsletters, get assigned sections (feature article, events, fun facts, interviews), learn layout basics, and produce the first issue of the class newsletter — sent directly to all school emails via Gmail.
Designing for Real Audiences
Students learn Canva — dashboard, templates, drag-and-drop, and the C.A.R.P. design principles (Contrast, Alignment, Repetition, Proximity). They create graphics for the class blog, school newsletter, and real school events. Week 12 is the Capstone Showcase — students present their work. Families are invited. Every student earns a Digital Creator Certificate.
Want the full week-by-week breakdown? Request a proposal and we’ll send the complete curriculum overview for the Digital Creators Program.
Get Curriculum21st Century Skills, Embedded in Every Lesson
Together, both programs cover the full spectrum of what middle schoolers need — critical thinking for navigating the digital world, and creative skills for building in it.
Critical Thinking
Fact-checking AI, evaluating scam tactics, analyzing algorithms, and understanding how platforms are designed to manipulate attention.
Ethical Reasoning
AI ethics, academic integrity, content ownership, copyright basics, and responsible decision-making in digital spaces.
Creative Writing
Writing for a real public audience — with a personal voice, a specific niche, and actual readers who can respond.
Brainstorming & Entrepreneurship
Generating ideas, pitching concepts, exploring digital business models, and understanding how skills become income.
Visual Communication
Applying C.A.R.P. design principles in Canva to communicate through layout, color, and imagery — not just words.
Collaboration
Peer editing, rotating editorial roles, upstander practice, and shared publication ownership — working together with real stakes.
Foresight
Career roadmapping, digital footprint awareness, and understanding how today’s choices shape tomorrow’s opportunities.
Personal Branding & Safety
Building a consistent digital identity while protecting privacy — a skill that transfers to college applications, careers, and life.
This Is Also an ELA, College Readiness & Financial Literacy Program
AI ethics is media literacy. Scam detection is financial literacy. Blog writing is ELA. Newsletter creation is informational writing with editorial process. Every class maps to standards your curriculum team already tracks — making both programs easy to fund and justify across departments.
One Day. Every Grade. Both Programs.
BAM can visit your school once a week and serve multiple grade levels — running Digital Literacy classes and the Creators Program in the same building on the same day.
Maximum Impact. Minimum Scheduling Overhead.
Different grades can run different programs — or the same program at different pacing. Both programs can also run sequentially for the same class: Digital Literacy in fall, Digital Creators in spring.
BAM also serves elementary schools (grades 3–5) with Digital Citizens and Create, Design, Publish — making us a single vendor for your entire school building’s digital literacy needs.
Each session is independently differentiated by grade level. Same day, multiple rooms, age-appropriate experiences running in parallel.
📅 Example — Tuesday is BAM Day:
Class assignments, program tracks, and pacing are fully customizable based on your school’s priorities.
Run Both Programs at Your School
Many schools run the Digital Literacy & AI Program with one grade and the Digital Creators Program with another — or both in the same year for a complete digital literacy experience.
Digital Literacy & AI + Digital Creators Program
Together, these two programs cover the full spectrum of what middle schoolers need: the safety and critical thinking skills to navigate digital spaces responsibly, and the creative skills to actually produce and publish their own work.
🧠 Program 1 — Digital Literacy & AI
Online safety, AI ethics, cyberbullying response, screen time, digital footprint, scam detection, algorithms, misinformation, mental health, and career readiness.
- ✓ 12 classes, book 4, 8, or 12 weeks
- ✓ Every student leaves with a Personal Digital Action Plan
- ✓ Pre/post assessment & post-program report
✏️ Program 2 — Digital Creators
Blog writing, newsletter creation, and graphic design with Canva. Students produce a living class blog, a school newsletter, and event graphics used by the community.
- ✓ 12 weeks, full curriculum included
- ✓ Capstone Showcase — families invited
- ✓ All accounts handed over at program end
Schnelle Acevedo
Founder & CEO, BAM Digital Media LLC
Built From the Inside Out
Schnelle Acevedo is the founder and CEO of BAM Digital Media LLC, a Brooklyn-based digital media education company certified by New York City and New York State as a Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE). She holds a BFA in Creative Writing and a Master of Public Administration, and brings 14 years of full-time content creation experience — including campaigns for Disney, Netflix, Amazon, and Procter & Gamble — directly into every program she teaches.
Schnelle didn’t build her approach from a textbook. She built it from the inside out — mastering the same algorithms, engagement strategies, and digital platforms that students encounter every day, then turning that knowledge into curriculum that actually makes sense to teenagers, parents, and teachers. She grew Brooklyn Active Mama to over 100,000 monthly readers through consistent content, community, and creative hustle — exactly what students build in the Digital Creators Program.
Nellie showed me that the life and career I want to build IS possible. She generously shares the ins and outs of running an online business in a way that’s genuine and inspiring.
What This Looks Like at Your School
No surprises. Everything you need to know before you book.
Session Length
45–60 minutes per session, once per week. Digital Literacy: 1 session per class. Creators: 1 session per week for 12 weeks.
Booking Packages
Digital Literacy & AI: 4, 8, or 12 weeks. Digital Creators: full 12-week program only.
Class Size
15–25 students recommended, maximum 30.
Format
In-person (NYC schools) or virtual via Zoom/Google Meet.
Tech Requirements
Projector and internet required every session. Student devices needed for most Creators weeks; optional for Digital Literacy classes.
Teacher Prep
Under 15 minutes per session. Complete instructor guide provided for every class and unit.
Funding
Project PIVOT eligible · Title I funded · NYC & NYS MWBE Certified.
Booking
Monday–Friday, 9 AM–3 PM. 4–6 week lead time recommended.
Answers for Principals & Administrators
The questions we hear most often — answered directly.
Ready to Bring Both Programs to Your Middle School?
Let’s talk about which programs — and which package — fits your students, your schedule, and your budget.