In a period like the post-COVID era, where isolation and distance have heightened anxieties and insecurities for nearly everyone, a new way of thinking about video games seems to be emerging: not just as entertainment, but as an educational and therapeutic tool… But weren’t video games, among other things, precisely what made us feel even more isolated?!

This article, published in the Open Journal of Educational Research in February 2023, explores how video game education—including selected games, such as the popular Minecraft, along with targeted programs—can serve as a true form of therapy for young middle school students. After months away from school and friends, many students have found themselves with a lingering sense of anxiety that’s hard to shake. Video games, with their ability to immerse players in different worlds and teach emotional management, can (and already have) proven to be unexpectedly valuable tools.

No, the core idea isn’t simply to distract oneself with a video game or forget about insecurities while in front of a PC or console. Rather, it’s about creating an intentional journey, where the video game itself becomes an opportunity for emotional growth. Through engaging settings and storylines that require choices, people, young and older alike, can explore complex emotions, learn to manage them, and reflect on them.

This article doesn’t discuss video games broadly; instead, it highlights what is, for us, a crucial point when we talk about Edugaming: the choice of the game title, whether commercial or not. The article conducts a sort of conscious selection of titles, as well as structured activities and methodologies, which can genuinely fit within the concept and practice of Edugaming or therapeutic approaches through video games.

Above all, it presents results, preliminary data, and testimonials that genuinely underscore the method’s effectiveness, which might otherwise seem overly theoretical or based on preconceptions and the desire to promote gaming for its own sake or out of personal passion, lacking critical thought or factual grounding. We recommend reading it! Unfortunately, it’s only available in English :(

Read here: Videogame Education as an Anxiety Treatment between Middle-Year Students Post-Covid 19

Source:
Iwamoto Tosi, R. (2023). Videogame Education as an Anxiety Treatment between Middle-Year Students Post-Covid 19. Open Journal of Educational Research, 3(1), 1–16. Retrieved from https://www.scipublications.com/journal/index.php/ojer/article/vie w/617