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For my bachelor’s thesis, I created Põhja konna needus (The Curse of the North Frog) — a digital learning game designed for 7th grade Estonian language classes. The game focuses on consonant clusters, a topic many students find difficult and boring.
By combining mythological storytelling with interactive grammar tasks, the aim was to make learning more engaging for students while reducing preparation work for teachers.
Year: 2025
Type: Bachelor’s thesis, EKA
Mentor: Rene Rebane
School partner: Tartu Catholic Education Centre
CONTEXT
An educational game is a subtype of a serious game, with the main goal being a clear learning outcome rather than entertainment. In such games, even failure serves the purpose of motivating people to learn. This use of games for teaching is called game-based learning.
Most digital learning games today focus on STEM subjects, where content is concrete and easy to adapt from English. In comparison, Estonian as a native language has far fewer playful materials. Apps like Duolingo are built for foreign languages, not for native grammar, and that gap was where I saw the greatest opportunity to intervene.
SKILLS
Educational game design and storytelling
UX/UI and wireframing (Figma)
Prototyping and testing (Figma, Bolt.new [programming - web])
Research and co-design (interviews, surveys, classroom workshops)
Academic writing and documentation
RESEARCH
LITERATURE OVERVIEW
Games have strong learning potential but are often only used as a motivator or a prize, not for learning.
Games give immediate feedback and encourage exploration.
According to Triinu Jesmin, 93% of teachers use games, 64% digital ones — but usually Kahoot or Quizizz, which don’t use the real potential of games.
The challenge: too much “fun” loses the learning, too much “education” loses the engagement.
My design follows inductive teaching: students see examples, articulate the rule, then check against the textbook.
TARGET GROUPS
Students (grades 7–9)
Teachers (especially older and less digitally confident)
Students
Few playful tools are used in higher grades.
Concentration, comprehension, and reasoning skills have dropped.
They need more engaging materials.
Teachers
36% of Estonian teachers are over 55.
Many feel overwhelmed by digital tools.
Teachers feel overworked and underpaid but remain motivated to try new methods.
Any solution must be clear, simple, and quick to set up.
FIELDWORK
To ground the design in classroom reality, I combined several methods:
8 classroom observations
grades 5–9 across three schools revealed how different class dynamics and teaching styles can be.
9 half-structured interviews
3 teachers (everyday challenges),
3 experts (game-based learning),
1 psychologist (motivation and attention), and
2 publishers (economics of textbooks and games).
Nationwide questionnaire
identified the most difficult topics in Estonian language teaching.
Workshop with 5 teachers
validated consonant clusters as a focus topic and confirmed phones as the most practical device (BYOD). Teachers emphasized: “If you know the basic rule of consonant clustering and the four exceptions, you’re on top.”
KEY INSIGHTS
DESIGN CHALLENGE
HOW MIGHT I CREATE A ...
high-quality and accessible digital learning game
that supports Estonian language teachers
and helps students more effectively master complex and dry grammar topics,
while taking into account teachers’ lack of time, digital skills, and the limitations of technical and financial resources?
PRINCIPLES
Must be clear, easy to use, adaptable, free, and require minimal planning.
Students should learn the consonant cluster rule as well as or better than with traditional methods.
Must be fun for both students and teachers.
Phone-centric, but used for no more than a third of the class.
DEVELOPMENT
CORE DESIGN COMPONENTS
Mythological theme
I wanted to connect grammar learning to a cultural narrative. Teachers also noted that mythology is underexplored in class, so this theme created a bridge between language and literature lessons.
Board + phone setup
Inspired by familiar tools like Kahoot, but designed for deeper learning. A simple PIN join keeps setup quick and teacher-friendly.
Collaborative play
Students play individually, but the outcome affects the whole class. This keeps weaker students engaged and turns learning into a shared challenge. This also includes students without smartphones to the game experience.
Fair feedback
Wrong answers don’t stop progress but still contribute to learning and small rewards. This keeps motivation high and encourages risk-taking.
Balanced phone use
Phones are used for about 30% of class time; the rest is teacher-led discussion and group learning. This prevents disengagement and screen fatigue.
Visual clarity
Testing showed old projectors made dark palettes unreadable, so I switched to bright, high-contrast visuals and clear fonts to ensure accessibility.
THE GAME
NARRATIVE
Based on Kreutzwald’s "Põhja konn". A curse spreads across the land, twisting words. Students ally with Trükiveakurat (Typo Demon) and Arvutitrükipõrguline (Computer Typo Demon) to collect crystals, cast spells, and face the Põhja konn (North Frog).
Structure: chapter-based, like an RPG.
GAMEPLAY
The teacher sets up the game and starts it on their computer. Students join the virtual room by entering the PIN on their phone.
Progression: Each student makes individual choices, but the group progresses together.
Correct answers award points.
Incorrect answers offer another attempt, with the chance to still earn points.
At the end of the session, all points are tallied.
The class collectively unlocks either a spell or a companion.
Board view: story and progress projected at the front of the class.
Phone view: students solve short interactive tasks.
OUTCOME
FINAL SOLUTION
At a glance, Põhja konna needus is:
A classroom game blending grammar, mythology and play.
Board + phones: story projected, tasks on students’ phones.
Quick, visual, collaborative exercises that fit into a 45-minute lesson.
Simple, free, and accessible for teachers.
Built to make a dry grammar rule engaging and memorable.
PROTOTYPE
TESTING & RESULTS
Tested with 4 classes at Tartu Catholic Education Centre and sent documentation to teachers and experts.
Students: positive, some disappointed they couldn’t finish the story and face Põhja konn. Enjoyed mythology theme and cooperation.
Teachers: relieved a dry topic had a playful format; liked that it connected to literature lessons.
Experts: stressed importance of individual feedback and ensuring all students experience success.
REFLECTION
I learned to balance ambition with scope and came away with stronger skills in research, co-design, and educational game development.
This project taught me the value of deep research and the importance of grounding design decisions in evidence. It also showed me that ambition needs balance — sometimes less is more. While earlier prototyping could have improved polish, the thorough groundwork gave me a strong foundation and a clearer process for the future.
LINKS
Google Sites
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