The Wire

Make Magazine has declared 2014 the Year of the Maker, and here at Mouse we couldn't agree more.

Apply to be a Featured Mouse Maker

We were so inspired by the amazing projects and learning innovations you shared during our Mouse Squad Digital Meet-Ups last year that we want to broadcast your stories with educators everywhere -- so we are excited to introduce Mouse Makes! Mouse Makes will feature videos, blog posts, and other resources from the Mouse team, our friends and partners, and most importantly, from YOU. This is a place to share the awesome technology and digital media projects happening at your site, notes on what your Mouse Squad is up to and how you get it all done, and more!

How to get involved:

1. Think of something awesome happening at your site! It could be a great way you've implemented software for student use, an amazing project your students took on, a fantastic system you've perfected to get your Mouse Squad up and running every year, or anything else that you want to share with the Mouse Squad Network and the broader ed-tech community. The ideal Mouse Makes installment will spark great ideas for the viewer, and put them on the path to making or doing something awesome of their own.
2. Put your name and idea in the short form below.
3. A Mouse staff member will get in touch with you about your installment of Mouse Makes. It could be done interview-style over a webcam with someone from Mouse asking you questions, or it could be a quick video you shoot with your Squad! Installments can be as long or short as you want; an ideal installment will be about 5 minutes long.
4. Mouse will edit the video and post it to the Wire and our social media, so that educators from the Mouse Squad Network and beyond can see your great work and be inspired!

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Mouse Makes FAQ

What is the right format for a Mouse Makes installment? Keep it low-maintenance -- think 5 minutes or less, and feel free to use video, a screencast with audio or subtitles, or request an interview over Skype or Google Hangouts. We would love it if your students were involved in the production of your installment!

What's the right level of polish for my installment? Please feel free to keep it simple -- no need for post-production or significant editing. The main goal is to find an easy, accessible way to share your projects, ideas, expertise, and -- most importantly -- your excitement!

What's the right content for a Mouse Makes installment? How can I plan my contribution? Mouse Makes segments are intended to provide a forum to share best practices, awesome outcomes, and great tools, ideas, and works-in-progress. They're a way to shout out great work you and your Squad are doing, and help other educators figure out how to do what you've done. One way to plan your segment (just as an example -- please feel free to alter as you see fit!) would be to split the time roughly into thirds:

• Spend about 1/3 of the time explaining your project/fieldtrip/partnership/etc, what it is and how it works.
• Spend about 1/3 of the time explaining how you did it -- how did you recruit, vet, and train volunteers? How did you learn to use the tool? What support did you need? What resources did you find most useful? What recommendations do you have for others who may be interested in doing the same thing?
• Spend about 1/3 of the time talking about outcomes and next steps -- what did you get out of this? What did your students, volunteers, community, etc. get out of it? Where do you see it going? Who do you think would benefit most from taking on a similar project?

How can Mouse help me participate? Feel free to contact Naomi for help editing a storyboard, outline, or script; to talk through ideas; and to provide feedback. However, our hope is that the process and product will be your own, and will reflect your work, tone, etc.