By Kristina Austin
May 05, 2014

BYRON TOWNSHIP - When students or staff at Cross Creek Charter Academy have a computer or other technology problem, they call on the Mighty Mouse Squad.

The squad is made up of middle school students who are learning to provide technology system support as part of a class led by library technology specialist Alexandra Brown. The squad is in its second year at the charter school, located at 7701 Kalamazoo Ave. SE.

“The students repair or work on just about anything that I would, such as printer issues, phones not working, switch out broken monitors, or correcting sound issues,” Brown said. “Right now, our students are learning to use Screenr so they can make a four- to five-minute screen cast or video on how to use various programs.”

To help build the students’ confidence in the beginning of the school year, Brown had them take a computer apart and put it back together. The students also provide customer service by explaining how they fixed a problem when performing a repair. Brown said the goal of the class is to teach the students higher-order learning, problem-solving, and leadership skills.

And the middle schools students said they are having fun while learning.

“I enjoy Mouse Squad because I’ve always enjoyed tinkering with electronics and things,” Mighty Mouse Squad member and student Max Woltjer said.

Fellow squad member Isaiah Beatty said, “One of the best things is that we get to help people when they need tech help. My fellow classmates look up to me for tech help, and it’s a cool experience.”

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