Starting this upcoming Monday, 8 Bit Library will begin a new series on Super Mario Bros. in the classroom.

The inspiration for these posts came about in one of my (Justin) many recent professional conversations with Buffy Hamilton.  Since Buffy is a school librarian, she looks at using technology in education in a different way than I do.  I’ve always seen technology in education as something stagnant (for example: using research databases to obtain information).  What I got from Buffy and her Media 21 project is that technology in education isn’t just about using the internet or an online database to find information.  It’s about instilling a passion and excitement into the learner through collaborative tools and exploration.  This represented a totally new shift in thinking and viewing video games for me.

Exploring something like the history of Super Mario Bros. is a great way to instill the passion of learning and discovery in student by encouraging them to research something that is important in their lives. I noticed that the teens that participated in the Game Night program at my library were more likely to visit and use the library after they had attended a few gaming events at the library.  Why could this not work with education?  Hook them with Mario at first and then in no time they’ll finally learn to dig Catcher In The Rye after that.  Right?

With this series, we here at 8 Bit Library hope to inspire you and give you some pointers on how to incorporate the rich history of video games into your classroom.