From Piaget to Pixels
Discover the remarkable story of Blockly, the invisible engine that powers creative computing for millions. This is a multi-generational journey of ideas, from educational philosophy to groundbreaking technology.
An Intellectual and Technological Journey
Click on each stage of the timeline to explore the key figures, ideas, and technologies that paved the way for block-based programming.
1950s
Jean Piaget & Constructivism
1967
Seymour Papert & Logo
2007
Mitchel Resnick & Scratch
2010
App Inventor & The Technical Need
2012
Neil Fraser & The Birth of Blockly
The Philosophical Foundation
The story begins not with computers, but with Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. His revolutionary theory of Constructivism proposed that learning is an active process. He argued that children don't just absorb knowledge; they build it in their own minds by interacting with the world.
This idea—that knowledge is built, not transmitted—became the bedrock for everything that followed, shifting the focus of education from instruction to active exploration and discovery.
The Philosophical Bedrock
Block-based programming isn't just a technical tool; it's the embodiment of a deep educational philosophy about how we learn.
Constructivism (Piaget)
The core idea that learning is an active process. We don't just absorb information; we construct our own understanding of the world by interacting with it and building mental models (schemas) in our minds.
Internal Construction
Knowledge is built inside the mind.
Constructionism (Papert)
An extension of Piaget's theory. Papert argued that this mental construction happens most effectively when we are also engaged in constructing a tangible artifact in the real world—like a program, a robot, or a story.
Learning by Making
Making things in the world builds knowledge in the mind.
The Platforms of Progress
From the first turtle on a screen to global online communities, these platforms represent key milestones in the evolution of constructionist technology.
Logo
1967The first programming language for children, featuring the "Turtle" to make abstract geometry concepts concrete and playful.
Key Innovators: Papert, Feurzeig, Solomon
LEGO Mindstorms
1998A robotics platform born from a collaboration between MIT and LEGO, bringing constructionism into the physical world by merging bricks with code.
Key Innovators: Papert, Resnick, LEGO Group
Scratch
2007A revolutionary visual programming language and online community that popularized the block-based interface and social coding.
Key Innovators: Mitchel Resnick, MIT Media Lab
App Inventor
2010Originally from Google, now at MIT, it allows novices to build fully functional mobile apps. Its technical needs directly led to Blockly's creation.
Key Innovators: Hal Abelson, Google, MIT
Blockly
2012A powerful JavaScript library for building block-based coding editors. It acts as the "engine" for countless educational applications.
Key Innovators: Neil Fraser, Google
Microsoft MakeCode
2016A platform for physical computing that uses a customized version of Blockly to program devices like the micro:bit and LEGO Mindstorms EV3.
Key Innovators: Microsoft
Blockly's Ecosystem: A Comparison
Blockly's flexibility as a library has allowed it to become the foundation for a diverse ecosystem of powerful learning tools. Here's how three major platforms compare.
Legacy and the Path Forward
The journey from Piaget's theories to a globally deployed JavaScript library is a testament to the power of an idea nurtured across generations. Blockly, in its role as the invisible engine, has become the most widespread and successful delivery mechanism for the constructionist philosophy of learning.
It has realized Seymour Papert's vision from Mindstorms on a scale he could have only dreamed of, lowering the floor for computational thinking to the ground. The central challenge that remains is bridging the "transition gap" from blocks to text. The future of Blockly and the platforms it powers will be defined by innovations that create a smoother off-ramp, helping every learner continue their journey from their first interlocking blocks to their first line of professional code.