Director, Scheller Teacher Education Program/Education Arcade

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

United States | North America 

For over 25 years, Judy Perry has enjoyed exploring and innovating at the intersections of learning, play, and technology. Her areas of interest include the design, implementation and research on learning games, curricula, and professional development to empower K-12 youth and educators in the U.S. and globally.

As Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Scheller Teacher Education Program (STEP Lab) / The Education Arcade (TEA), Perry currently manages the core operations for 18+ staff and students, including design, development, and research across the Lab’s projects. The STEP Lab develops next-generation constructionist, student-centered approaches that broaden educational access and participation, cultivate modeling and computational thinking skills and AI literacies, and enhance novel, playful approaches to STEAM education.

Prior to serving as Director of STEP/TEA, Perry spent over 15 years in the STEP Lab as a Research Manager where her research focused on mobile, geolocative and AR/VR educational games, participatory simulations, and game creation toolkits, and their integration into formal K-12 and informal learning settings including zoos, nature centers, out-of-school programs, botanical gardens and living history museums. Her work includes the TaleBlazer augmented reality (AR) software platform, CLEVR (Collaborative Learning Environments in Virtual Reality), pSims (mobile participatory simulations),  CLIx (the Connected Learning Initiative) in partnership with Tata Institute of Social Science-Mumbai, and STEAM innovation in education with Itz’at STEAM Academy-Belize. Across these projects, her work aims to support learners’ sense of agency, content knowledge, 21st century skills (collaboration, creativity, critical thinking), and joyful interest in STEM. 

Many of Perry’s projects directly engage educators in co-design, and support the lifelong learning of educators through creating and leading professional development workshops to enhance student-centered learning practices and collaborative practices among educators. 

Prior to joining MIT’s STEP lab, Perry’s work included television and web production, and content development for educational toys. Perry holds a BA in American Studies from Yale University and an EdM in Technology, Innovation, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.