Based on over two decades of research, KIBO is a developmentally appropriate, no-screen coding platform for young children.
The Developmental Technologies (DevTech) Research Group was started by Prof. Marina Umaschi Bers in 2001 at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University. In 2022, Prof. Bers and DevTech moved to a new home at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. DevTech promotes young children’s learning about computational thinking, coding, making and engineering in a playful, developmentally appropriate way. We focus on the design and use of creative technologies for leading more fulfilling lives and for making the world a better place. DevTech is recognized nationally and internationally as a pioneering interdisciplinary research lab with high impact. It accomplishes this through:
- theoretical contributions, such as the Positive Technological Development (PTD) framework
- design of new technologies, such as KIBO and ScratchJr, teaching materials, such as the Coding as Another Language curriculum, and strategies for professional development and community engagement
- empirical research to inform sustainable and scalable evidence-based programs for young children and the adults in their lives
- outreach to scale the impact nationally and internationally.
Meet Our Team
Prof. Marina Umaschi Bers, Ph.D.
Jessica Blake-West, MS
Bella Otoka, BA
Emily Nadler, BS
Clara McEleney
Post Doctoral Fellows
Doctoral Student Research Assistants
Masters Student Research Assistants
Undergraduate Research Assistants
High School Summer 2023 Interns
DevTech Alumni
| Aaron Tietz |
| Akshita Rao |
| Ariel Lerner |
| Adam Brooks |
| Adriana Flores |
| Alan Cepeda |
| Albert Tseng |
| Alex Bean |
| Alex Pugnali |
| Alexa Hasse |
| Alexandra Bogus |
| Alexandria Trombley |
| Alisha Bouzar |
| Aliza Bromberg Gaber |
| Alyssa Ettinger |
| Amanda Puerto |
| Amanda Strawhacker, Ph.D. |
| Amanda Sullivan, Ph.D. |
| Amy Fischer |
| Anastasia Goulopoulos |
| Andrea Andrade |
| Anika Kawsar |
| Anna Kasagawa |
| Anne Drescher |
| Annie Du |
| Apittha Unahalekhaka |
| Ashima Mathur |
| Avery Cohen |
| Barbara Ferrari |
| Becca Bogstad |
| Brendan Brennan |
| Camille Andersen |
| Caroline Abut |
| Caroline Woodruff |
| Catherine Cowell |
| Cedrick Boursiquot |
| Cheryl Pedersen |
| Chase Conley |
| Christie Diaz |
| Christina Koo |
| Claire Caine |
| Claudia Mihm |
| Clement Chau, Ph.D. |
| Cydnee Lane |
| Daniela Mesalles |
| Daniella DiPaola |
| Danielle Kong |
| Danielle Pike |
| David Kiger |
| Devon McKeon |
| Diana Deluca |
| Dylan Portelance |
| Edward Futterman |
| Elizabeth Kazakoff-Meyers, Ph.D. |
| Ellen Gage |
| Emil Polakiewicz |
| Emily Hu |
| Emily Lin |
| Emily Naito |
| Emily Relkin, Ph.D. |
| Emma Hershey |
| Ethan Peritz |
| Eva Timoney |
| Hadrian Engel |
| Hamid Palo |
| Hannah Gogel |
| Hannah Riehl |
| Hasan Khan |
| Hazel Leonard |
| Hera Kan |
| Hyejin Im |
| Isha Patnaik |
| Jack Margolin |
| Jaclyn Tsiang |
| Jan Yang |
| Jason Kahn |
| Jennifer Newman |
| Jete Thames |
| Ji-Sun Ham |
| Jill Plevinsky |
| Jolie Straus |
| Jordan Crouser, Ph.D. |
| Josephine Weidner |
| Joshua Seewald |
| Julia Klimberg |
| Kaavya Chaparala |
| Kaitlyn Leidl |
| Katherine Shield |
| Kathryn Cantrell |
| Kathryn Tweel |
| Katie Juelich |
| Kaylyn Adams |
| Keiko Satoh |
| Kenneth Lee |
| Kevin Dunn |
| Kianie Ramirez |
| Laura Beals |
| Laura Hacker |
| Laura de Ruiter, Ph.D. |
| Lauren Pollak |
| Laurie Rabin |
| Libby Hunt |
| Linton Davis |
| Louise Flannery |
| Madeline Nievera |
| Madhu Govind, Ph.D. |
| Maia Teubal |
| Maitreyi Kale |
| Marcos Posadas de la Piedra |
| Marcy Hudson |
| Marti Zentmaier |
| Martina Tan |
| Marie Perrot |
| Mateo Hernandez Idrovo |
| Matthew Fiedler |
| Matthew Taylor |
| Max Cohen |
| Maya Morris |
| Megan Bennie |
| Megan Berja |
| Megan Souza |
| Meha Elhence |
| Melanie Becker |
| Melissa Lee |
| Melissa McGuiness |
| Melissa Viezel |
| Michael Horn, Ph.D. |
| Michelle Stevens |
| Miela Efraim |
| Miki Vizner |
| Mira Eschtruth |
| Miranda Eagle |
| Mitch Choi |
| Mitchell Katz |
| Mollie Elkin |
| Naomi Arnold |
| Naomi Durand |
| Natasha Link |
| Nauman Khan |
| Nehama Libman |
| Nicole Boire |
| Nicole Notaro |
| Nick Woolf |
| Olivia Hobert |
| Pablo Storch |
| Paola Oberhauser |
| Patrick Nero |
| Rachael Fein |
| Rachel Viselman |
| Riva Dhamala |
| Ruthi Aladjem, Ph.D. |
| Ryan Ghayour |
| Sam Schwamm |
| Safoura Seddighin |
| Sarah Boone |
| Sarah Coburn |
| Shunta Muto |
| Sofia Poma |
| Stephanie Gold |
| Susan Ni |
| Taylor Lentz |
| Tess Guttadauro |
| Wren Stueck |
| XuanKhanh Nguyen |
| Yessenia Rivas |
| Ziva Hassenfeld, Ph.D. |
