The Developmental Technologies 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 at Boston College.
Our research pursues questions such as: How can children use technology in positive ways to lead more fulfilling lives and to make the world a better place? How can we develop programs to help children use technology in effective ways to learn new things, to express themselves creatively, to communicate in better ways, to take care of themselves and each other, and to contribute in positive ways to the self and the world? How do we develop computer-based interventions that, leveraging what children are already doing with technology in positive ways, build on their strengths and assets? How do we evaluate these complex interventions to promote not only coding skills and creative problem solving, but also positive technological development?