Week of February 16th - 22nd

I've spent the week being the ultimate consumer of video games. I got gussied up in Mario and Princess Peach accessories. Inspired by the plethora of customizable options, I chose to purchase a pink game purse, Super Princess Peach game system appliques, matching headphones, and I installed a Princess Peach wallpaper on my computer laptop. I am good to go.

In the meantime I have been branching out into the Grand Prix course options, competing in games with the likes of Luigi and Bowser. I'm still trying to figure out the effects of choosing the different options in the categories of kart, engine type, and character. It seems that I get better lap times with smaller cars and smaller characters.

February 9th - 16th: The Decision

Based on the survey results of 7 and 8 year olds at a local elementary school, I've decided on a game and a system: Mario Kart and Nintendo DS Lite.

Mario Kart was a very popular December video game seller, and DS was one of the most popular systems sold in the year 2007. The survey I conducted of 7 and 8 year olds at a local elementary school revealed that most children had played Mario Games and that most children owned the Nintendo DS system.

The DS system comes in a variety of colors including pink, black, blue and white. I wanted pink. After visiting a few local stores, to no avail, I decided to "let my fingers do the walking." I enquired by phone at several stores and was unable to locate a pink DS Lite, so I settled on a black one. Mario Kart was available at every store where I tried to purchase the pink DS game system.

I am on a personal quest to try to figure out how to play Mario Kart without reading the manuel.

Immediately, I got into the Time Trial mode, trying to out best my time on various tracks, for hours (literally) on end. It was kind of like a "tetris trance". Scary.

Real Life Mario Kart

Everything you always wanted to know about playing a Hannah Montana video game

Subject of video game most mentioned by girls

Get a Hannah Montana Widget on Buzznet

How my interest in video games as learning tools began.

This was a very popular video game in the kindergarten. The children were so captivated by this game I decided to develop an academic curriculum unit based on this game. The unit culminated with a multimedia dramatic production performed for family and friends. Here you see a photo capturing the beginning of the production. The pink and white frame in the center of the second photo is our replica of the classroom's strawberry iMac computer. The children entered the stage by walking through the computer as though they were becoming the characters (avatars) in the video game. You also see poor Humpty Dumpty after his great fall. Click here to hear Humpty's song. And yes, as you can see in my profile photo, I was Mother Goose.