DevTech’s pedagogical approach can be found in Marina Bers’ latest book Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom. Visit this book guide for activity suggestions for hands-on play, prompts for reflection and discussion and opportunities to take the concepts discussed in each book chapter further with additional resources.
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Visit this free book guide for hands-on activities and prompts for reflection to explore further the pedagogical approach proposed by Prof Bers.
To read the other books written Prof. Bers, visit our Books page!
Grant Resources for Educators
The following is a list of grants for teachers and educators that might provide funding for educators to access materials like KIBO or tablets for ScratchJr. DevTech is not associated with any of the following organizations.
- Adopt-a-Classroom
- DonorsChoose
- Get Ed Funding
- Grants Alert
- Grant Watch
- Grants.gov
- Inside Philanthropy
- Lockheed Martin’s STEM Education Grants
- Mass.gov
- Motorola Innovation Grants
- National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
- National Science Foundation Grants
- NEA Foundation Grants
- PledgeCents
- Rural Technology Grant
- Savvas Grant Resources
- Spencer Grant Library
- Scholastic Librarian Grants
- STEMfinity
- Teach
- THE Journal
- Toshiba
- US Department of Ed
- WK Kellogg Foundation
- Philanthropy News Digest
- Youth Service America
- VOYA Unsung Heroes Award
Upcoming Events
ScratchJr’s 10th Birthday at DevTech
We’re throwing a birthday party! Join the DevTech Research Group at from 12-3 PM EST on Sunday, March 16th, 2025 to celebrate 10 years of ScratchJr! For this free, in-person event at the DevTech lab on Boston College’s campus, children (of all ages!), families, educators, and more are invited to learn about and play with ScratchJr. The event will include tutorials, arts and crafts, games, storytelling, educator and family resources, all designed for ScratchJr. Attendees will leave with a ScratchJr project they love, some ScratchJr swag, and a smile on their face. Light refreshments will be provided.
Complete this google form to officially register for the event.
All registrants will be sent an email about parking and finding the DevTech space one week prior to the event. Additionally, stay tuned to our socials for sneak peaks at some brand new ScratchJr activities!
Past Events
ScratchJr’s 10th Birthday Virtual Event
This year, we are celebrating the 10th birthday of ScratchJr! With over 50 million users worldwide, ScratchJr is a free programming environment developed for children ages 5-7. With ScratchJr, children can learn the powerful ideas of computer science and literacy through programming and customizing their own animations, stories, and games.
ScratchJr was created by the DevTech Research Group in partnership with Lifelong Kindergarten and the Playful Invention Company and now generously supported by the Scratch Foundation. In the past decade, DevTech created copious learning and teaching resources, researched learning outcomes with ScratchJr and its curricula, and worked with the global community to support the use of ScratchJr. Now, we’d like to celebrate with you!
Please join us Monday, September 16th from 4-6 PM for a special virtual birthday celebration with the DevTech team and our learning community. Join Professor Marina Bers and her DevTech research group at Boston College to hear about 10 years worth of research, design and development. In this session, you will be introduced to a wide variety of topics including international partnerships, neuroscience studies, new ScratchJr prototypes, curricular resources, free professional development and more!
Please register here or use this link: bit.ly/ScratchJr10th.