Marina Bers
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| Marina Bers | |
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| Born | |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, |
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Marina Umaschi Bers is a professor at Tufts University known for her work on computational thinking, technology, and tools for children to learn computer programming. She has brought robotics into the classroom through her work on ScratchJr and robotics kits designed for young children.
Education[edit]
Umaschi Bers went to Buenos Aires University in Argentina and received her undergraduate degree in Social Communications (1993). In 1994, she earned a Master’s degree in Educational Media and Technology from Boston University; she also has an M.S. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1] In 2001, she earned a Ph.D. from the MIT Media Laboratory where she worked on the design of computational tools.[2] From 2005 until 2011, she worked at Boston Children's Hospital, and in 2007 she accepted a position at Tufts University where she was promoted to professor in 2013.[1] In 2018 she was named the chair of the Eliot-Pearson Dept. of Child Development.[1]
Bers co-founded KinderLab Robotics in 2013,[3] and has worked with WGBH-TV and PBS on content for children's broadcasting.[1]
Research and work[edit]
Bers’ research centers around the potential of technology to foster the development of children. Her early work examined storytelling and language in children,[4] robotics in early childhood education,[5][6] and the development of values in virtual environments.[7] In 2012 she developed the TangibleK robotics program to teach young children about the world of technology.[8] Bers developed the ScratchJr programming language collaboratively with Mitch Resnick, Paula Bonta, and Brian Silverman.[9][10] ScratchJr targets children from ages 5 to 7,[11] and is an offshoot of Scratch which is used to teach programming to children from 8 to 16 computer programming.[12][13] Bers also works to train childhood educators on the use of technology in the classroom[14][15] and develops curriculum that can be used to teach programming and computational thinking.[16] She developed the KIBO robot kit, a robot that young children can program with wooden blocks and serves as a tool to teach children computer programming.[17] As of 2021, she has more than 150 publications and an h-index of 48.[18]
Bers' work has been covered by media outlets worldwide[19], including venues such as the New York Times,[20][21][22] NPR,[23][24] CNBC,[25] CBS News,[26] Wall Street Journal,[27] and The Economist.[28] Her book, Coding as a Playground, has been reviewed by Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education[29] and Medium.[30] During the pandemic, Bers talked with the Boston Globe on how children may learn during the isolation introduced by the pandemic[31]
Selected publications[edit]
- Bers, Marina Umaschi (2008). Blocks to robots : learning with technology in the early childhood classroom. New York: Teachers College Press. ISBN 978-0-8077-4848-0. OCLC 156994433. Search this book on
- Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Sullivan, Amanda; Bers, Marina U. (2013). "The Effect of a Classroom-Based Intensive Robotics and Programming Workshop on Sequencing Ability in Early Childhood". Early Childhood Education Journal. 41 (4): 245–255. doi:10.1007/s10643-012-0554-5. ISSN 1082-3301. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - Bers, Marina Umaschi; Flannery, Louise; Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Sullivan, Amanda (2014-03-01). "Computational thinking and tinkering: Exploration of an early childhood robotics curriculum". Computers & Education. 72: 145–157. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.10.020. ISSN 0360-1315.
- Bers, Marina Umaschi (2016). The official ScratchJr book : help your kids learn to code!. Mitchel Resnick. San Francisco. ISBN 978-1-59327-671-3. OCLC 907203850. Search this book on
- Bers, Marina Umaschi (2020-10-06). Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom (2 ed.). New York: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003022602. ISBN 978-1-003-02260-2. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) Search this book on
Awards and honors[edit]
In 2005, Bers received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).[32] She also received a National Science Foundation (NSF)‘s Young Investigator’s Career Award,[33] and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Jan Hawkins Award for Early Career Contributions.[34] In 2015, Bers was chosen as one of the recipients of the Boston Business Journal’s Women to Watch in Science and Technology awards,[3] and in 2016, Bers received the Outstanding Faculty Contribution to Graduate Student Studies award at Tufts University.[35]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "CV for Marina Umaschi Bers" (PDF). May 7, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Umaschi Bers, Marina (2001). Identity construction environments: the design of computational tools for exploring a sense of self and moral values (Thesis). OCLC 49849693.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Boston Business Journal announces 2015 Women to Watch in Science and Technology honorees". www.bizjournals.com. April 2, 2015. Retrieved 2021-12-12. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Bers, Marina Umaschi; Cassell, Justine (1998). "Interactive Storytelling Systems for Children: Using Technology To Explore Language and Identity". Journal of Interactive Learning Research. 9 (2): 183–215. ISSN 1093-023X.
- ↑ Bers, Marina Umaschi (2008). Blocks to robots : learning with technology in the early childhood classroom. New York: Teachers College Press. ISBN 978-0-8077-4848-0. OCLC 156994433. Search this book on
- ↑ Bers, Marina U.; Ponte, Iris; Juelich, Catherine; Viera, Alison; Schenker, Jonathan (2002). "Teachers as Designers: Integrating Robotics in Early Childhood Education". Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual. 2002 (1): 123–145. ISSN 1522-8185.
- ↑ Umaschi Bers, Marina (2001-10-01). "Identity Construction Environments: Developing Personal and Moral Values Through the Design of a Virtual City". Journal of the Learning Sciences. 10 (4): 365–415. doi:10.1207/S15327809JLS1004new_1. ISSN 1050-8406.
- ↑ Bers, Marina U. (2010). "The TangibleK Robotics Program: Applied Computational Thinking for Young Children". Early Childhood Research & Practice. 12 (2). ISSN 1524-5039.
- ↑ "What is ScratchJr?". ScratchJr. Retrieved December 14, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Coding for kindergarteners: App teaches kids computer basics". www.cbsnews.com. October 1, 2014. Retrieved 2021-12-14. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Flannery, Louise P.; Silverman, Brian; Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Bers, Marina Umaschi; Bontá, Paula; Resnick, Mitchel (2013-06-24). "Designing ScratchJr: support for early childhood learning through computer programming". Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. IDC '13. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery: 1–10. doi:10.1145/2485760.2485785. ISBN 978-1-4503-1918-8. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ Strawhacker, Amanda; Lee, Melissa; Caine, Claire; Bers, Marina (2015-06-21). "ScratchJr demo: a coding language for kindergarten". Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. IDC '15. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery: 414–417. doi:10.1145/2771839.2771867. ISBN 978-1-4503-3590-4. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ Bers, Marina Umaschi (2018). "Coding, playgrounds and literacy in early childhood education: The development of KIBO robotics and ScratchJr". 2018 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON): 2094–2102. doi:10.1109/EDUCON.2018.8363498. ISBN 978-1-5386-2957-4. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) - ↑ Bers, Marina; Seddighin, Safoura; Sullivan, Amanda (2013). "Ready for Robotics:Bringing together the T and E of STEM in early childhood teacher education". Journal of Technology and Teacher Education. 21 (3): 355–377. ISSN 1059-7069.
- ↑ Bers, Marina Umaschi; Flannery, Louise; Kazakoff, Elizabeth R.; Sullivan, Amanda (2014-03-01). "Computational thinking and tinkering: Exploration of an early childhood robotics curriculum". Computers & Education. 72: 145–157. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.10.020. ISSN 0360-1315.
- ↑ Bers, Marina Umaschi (2020-10-06). Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom (2 ed.). New York: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003022602. ISBN 978-1-003-02260-2. Unknown parameter
|s2cid=ignored (help) Search this book on
- ↑ "'Coding is the new literacy': How STEM toys teach kids programming skills". www.msn.com. October 19, 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-13. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Marina Bers". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
- ↑ "Build your child's STEM skills, problem-solving abilities and resilience with coding". The Straits Times. 2021-08-16. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ Miller, Claire Cain; Bidgood, Jess (2017-07-31). "How to Prepare Preschoolers for an Automated Economy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ Martin, Claire (2014-09-27). "Turning Programming Into Child's Play". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ Pappano, Laura (2017-04-04). "Learning to Think Like a Computer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ Kamenetz, Anya (2015-09-18). "Coding Class, Then Naptime: Computer Science For The Kindergarten Set". NPR. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ Kamenetz, Anya (2016-01-12). "The President Wants Every Student To Learn Computer Science. How Would That Work?". NPR. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ Sabin, Samantha (2015-08-04). "The toys that could help close Silicon Valley's gender gap". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ "Coding for kindergarteners: App teaches kids computer basics". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ Stern, Aaron (2020-05-05). "The Best Robot Toys for Building Kids' STEM Skills". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ "No assembler required". The Economist. 2015-08-01. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
- ↑ Brown, Angela (2018-01-24). "Book Review: Coding as a Playground: Programming and Computational Thinking in the Early Childhood Classroom". AACE. Retrieved 2021-12-14. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Manik, Ismail Ali (2018-02-23). "Kids Coding Course -Part 1 of 101- Coding as exploring powerful ideas?". Medium. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
- ↑ Baskin, Kara (October 1, 2020). "Will my kid learn anything this school year? Experts take on the most worrisome questions - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-12-13. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers: Recipient Details for Marina Bers". www.nsf.gov. 2005. Retrieved 2021-12-12. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Marina Umaschi Bers, PhD | Professor and Chair, Eliot-Pearson Dept. of Child Study & Human Development; Dept. of Computer Science; Director, DevTech Research Group, Tufts University". Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ↑ "Awards". www.aera.net. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
- ↑ "2016 Graduate Awards | Tufts University - Graduate Programs". asegrad.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
External links[edit]
- Marina Bers publications indexed by Google Scholar
- Young programmers -- think playgrounds, not playpens | Marina Bers | TEDxJackson on YouTube, January 20, 2015
- MIT's Comparative Media Studies (February 28, 2020). "Marina Bers, "Coding in Early Childhood: Storytelling or Puzzle Solving?" (Podcast). SoundCloud. Retrieved December 14, 2021. 2020 interview with Bers
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