Purpose: Many educators currently face challenges when trying to engage students in creative learning experiences online, where it can be particularly difficult to move beyond the transmissive approach typical of video lessons and webinars. The purpose of this paper is to present WeScratch, online workshops designed as welcoming, playful and peer-supported spaces where educators can experience first-hand an alternative approach to learning online, as they actively learn to create projects using the Scratch programming language. Design/methodology/approach: The WeScratch experience is designed as a hands-on, creative online workshop where participants spend most of their time making projects while they share ideas with peers. The authors describe the structure, platform, facilitation and activities of WeScratch workshops, highlighting the main design choices and their underlying motivations. Findings: This study discusses how this environment has engaged educators from around the world to experiment with Scratch in a playful way. The authors give examples of how educators have described the value of the experience, both as learners developing their skills and as designers developing similar learning experiences for their students. Originality/value: WeScratch provides a model for how to design online learning environments to be more inclusive, playful and collaborative. Although WeScratch workshops are designed to support learning to create with code, the authors see the wider potential for applying this approach to other online learning environments to broaden participation, build connection and expand creative expression.