For Children and Families

The DevTech Research Group will be hosting the Coding Playgrounds Summer Series for children entering Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade interested in exploring programming and robotics during summer vacation. 

The Summer Series will run two- one week in person sessions from July 24th-28th (Session 1) and July 31st-August 4th (Session 2). Session 1 will be focused on ScratchJr, a visual, block-based programming app for young children, and Session 2 will focus on KIBO, a screen-free, block based programming and robotics kit. Both sessions will teach these technologies using the Coding as Another Language curriculum developed by the DevTech Research Group. 

The Summer Series will be hosted from 9:00-12:00pm Monday to Friday in person at DevTech’s early childhood makerspace located in Carney Hall Room 306 on the Boston College Campus. 

Spots are limited. Children are welcome to sign up for one or both sessions. Please complete one sign up form per child. If you would like to enroll in both sessions you will need to complete the sign up form for each child for each session,

Enrollment Fee: $100/per child for one session.

An hour and a half lesson on ScratchJr using beginner to intermediate coding skills to create a One Sentence Story. ScratchJr is a visual programming language using block based coding designed for children ages 5-8. In this workshop, children will create more complex programs and construct One Sentence Stories. Children will work independently and in collaboration to create unique coding projects while learning important concepts of literacy and computer science! 

An hour and a half lesson on ScratchJr using intermediate coding skills. ScratchJr is a visual programming language using block based coding designed for children ages 5-8, we are recommending this intermediate session to children in 1st and 2nd grade. In this workshop, children will create more complex programs and construct One Sentence Stories. Children will work independently and in collaboration to create unique coding projects while learning important concepts of literacy and computer science! 

In addition to ScratchJr and KIBO, DevTech houses many other programming and robotic tools for young children. In this hour and a half long session, children ages 5-8 will have the opportunity to try out new tools and activities such as Botley, Code-a-Pillar, Artie 3000, 3Doodler, and Snap Circuits.

An hour and a half introductory lesson to KIBO Robotics. KIBO is a tangible, block based programming language and robotics kit for children ages 5-8. In this introductory lesson, children will not only learn the basics of how to use KIBO through the Coding as a Playground and Coding as Another Language pedagogies, they will also explore important concepts of robotics, computer science, and STEAM.

An hour and a half introductory lesson to ScratchJr. ScratchJr is a visual programming language using block based coding designed for children ages 5-8. In this introductory workshop, children will learn the basics of how to use ScratchJr through the Coding as a Playground and Coding as Another Language pedagogies. Children will work independently and in collaboration to create unique ScratchJr projects while learning important concepts of literacy and computer science!

In addition to ScratchJr and KIBO, DevTech houses many other programming and robotic tools for young children. In this hour and a half long session, children ages 5-8 will have the opportunity to try out new tools and activities such as Botley, Code-a-Pillar, Artie 3000, 3Doodler, and Snap Circuits.

“The Coding Brain” three day workshop is a special offering being held during Massachusetts Schools February Vacation week. This opportunity is specifically for first graders (ages 6-7). Over the three days, children will be introduced to the basics of neuroscience and computer programming, using the ScratchJr programming app. On the last day of the session, we will hold a showcase for family and friends to see children’s final projects: a ScratchJr project about how the brain works! Following this workshop, children will also be given the opportunity to participate in the Coding Brain research study, where we will investigate their brain activation while using ScratchJr!

There will be two sessions of this workshop: Session 1 will run from Monday to Wednesday from 2:00-3:30 PM and Session 2 will be run from Wednesday to Friday from 9:30-11:00 AM. All sessions will be held at the DevTech workshop space on the Boston College campus.

In order to participate, we ask that children attend all three lessons of the workshop.