Play your way to multiliteracy!
About the House of Stories project
In today’s digital world, growing concerns about children’s and young people’s reading, writing, and multiliteracy skills highlight the need for new pedagogical approaches. The Tarinatalo (House of Stories) project addresses this need by developing an innovative, next-generation solution to strengthen these skills through play. The project explores the potential of games in supporting the development of writing skills.
The Tarinatalo project offers a novel game-based learning environment that brings together multiple fields, including game-based literacy, pedagogy, education, and information sciences—particularly human–computer interaction and collaboration. The University of Lapland contributes pedagogical expertise, the University of Oulu focuses on technological competence and user experience, and Oulu University of Applied Sciences is responsible for implementation.
Pedagogical background
Research shows that play and learning are closely interconnected, forming the pedagogical foundation of the Tarinatalo project. Previous studies indicate that gamification in education supports students’ motivation to write and fosters a more positive attitude toward the writing process.
The development of the game aligns with the objectives of the national curriculum. It is designed as a teaching tool for educators and can be used as one pedagogical method among others. The Finnish version of Tarinatalo is freely available online for teachers.
Pedagogical principles:
- Supporting community and interaction
- Building agency
- Supporting ideation and narrative skills (depending on the task and genre), as well as critical literacy
- Utilizing immersion, the appeal of games and play, and simulation
- Promoting diverse pedagogical usability
Learning games developed in the project
The Finnish version of Tarinatalo is freely available and has been used in education for several years. Training sessions have been offered, and pedagogical guidelines are available on the project website. Explore the Finnish-language version here.
Tarinatalo has also been translated into three Sámi languages: Inari Sámi, Skolt Sámi, and Northern Sámi. These translations support equal opportunities for Sámi-speaking children to develop multiliteracy skills and increase the availability of learning materials in Sámi languages. Training webinars for teachers have also been organized for the Sámi-language versions. Explore the Sámi-language version here.
There is also a VR version of Tarinatalo, where learners study grammar in an immersive virtual environment. Learning in the game is experiential and context-based. Watch the trailer here.
A new version of the game that utilizes AI agents is currently under development.
Publications:
Co-designing Playful Learning with AI for Multiliteracy Education (2025)
Towards Playful Computational Empowerment – Teenagers Designing Their Learning Environment (2025)
Serious games in Finnish language teaching (2025)
A Systematic Review of Research on Learning Writing Skills Using Gamification (2024)