There are currently few ways for students to explicitly showcase the skills they learn outside of school to advance them in their career and education. At the Pacific Science Center, youth in the Discovery Corps program become leaders in science and presentation, developing crucial personal and professional skills that that they would not have otherwise developed in school. Our solution to giving the students the recognition they deserve is to design a digital badge system for the Discovery Corps Program. Digital badges provide the youth with a way to present these skills in an online platform that they can share with potential employers and educators. This creates a precedent for which skills learned outside of school can be quantified in an applicable manner. Students can gain recognition for skills that previously were unacknowledged, giving them an advantage in reaching future goals.

Our project addresses outdated and clunky software being used in pathology departments across the U.S. and Canada. Our team is working with Peak Medical Technologies, a consulting firm aiming to develop a new suite to solve many problems prevalent in this field such as high error-rates in filling out medical forms. We are addressing this problem by creating a data-driven approach that reduces confusion and helps push users towards correct decisions. Our solution will be considered successful if an inexperienced user (not just a doctor or pathologist) can complete a request for sample testing through our computerized form with a low error rate.

This project addresses the lack of well tested, comprehensive, and statically-typed data structures and algorithms for TypeScript and JavaScript. In JavaScript the only data structures provided are arrays, and string key hash maps. This limits the ability of JavaScript developers to solve problems; where other data structures would work better with less code and more efficiency. Having a comprehensive library of well-researched data structures and algorithms will increase the productivity of JavaScript and TypeScript developers. Success was gauged by documentation for public APIs, extensive test coverage, and published public modules containing the completed library. Surveys were also conducted on various online development communities in order to determine the utility and quality of the library.

Millions of people are suffering from cancer and tumors. We need to make a difference! With dedication to ensure patients can receive the most effective treatment possible, the Presage online monitoring system are developed to improve the cancer drug development process and gap current technology limitations. The web application provides online data monitoring by enabling scientists to cross check data and ensure both accuracy and precision of predicted results by switching different classification algorithms. Also, they are able to interact with charts and graphics demonstrating historical data comparison and distribution. Even without accessing the app, they will receive highly customized digest reports containing details about outlier images. We make information intuitive and innovative.

In 2012, an estimated 421,000 people were injured from crashes involving distracted drivers. This is a 9% increase from the previous year. Locking drivers out of their phone is not a way to combat this issue. Instead, we have developed an Android lockscreen application that allows users to set commonly used driving apps so that they have quick access to them when needed, as well as provide data via the phones’ sensors to show how safely the users drive. Our app not only reduces time spent fumbling through the phone to find specific apps, but it also tells the user they might be an often-distracted driver. We found that through the use of our lockscreen replacement, testers spent up to 13 less seconds browsing to an app they wanted to use, indicating that our app would help drivers pay more attention to the road.

With the influx of children entering elementary school born after 2007 (notably, the year of the first iPhone), it is increasingly important for school libraries to consider the role of electronic materials in the library. Studies have shown that elementary schools across the nation are less likely to provide eBooks to their students. Here in the West, fewer schools offer eBooks than any other region in the United States. We have created a plan for the implementation of an eCollection at Fernwood Elementary School in the Northshore School District (NSD). Together, we will meet the information needs of Fernwood’s students and help this school district move into the digital age—making NSD a model for future schools in the Pacific Northwest. Our students are digital natives. It is time for libraries and schools to address their specific needs and bridge the remaining gap between technology and education. 

Academic libraries deliver vital instruction on information literacy to their students and faculty. At Seattle Central College (SCC) Library, the information literacy program covers all academic disciplines but targets introductory courses to better advocate the value of information literacy. Our project aims to expand the information literacy program at Seattle Central College by embedding ourselves as librarians in a popular course titled Multicultural Communications (CMST 205). Taught by Professor Marian Lyles, this course has been known by students to demand mature research skills. Our Information Literacy Embedding Program enhances the syllabus and curriculum of the class by integrating tailored instruction for the cumulative research assignment. Very much hands-on and collaborative, the work of our project allowed us to develop information literacy instruction designed specifically for this course and its students. By targeting a particular class, this embedded librarian model will demonstrate the positive impact of integrating information literacy programs at Seattle Central College. 

Truly an urban retreat, the Washington Park Arboretum is a beautiful, 230-acre oasis tucked away in Seattle’s Montlake neighborhood. Since 1934, scientists and volunteers have collected data on over 11,000 plant species, which have recently been digitized. This plant database, as well as an Arboretum map highlighting trails and landmarks, is formatted for use on computers, and difficult for visitors to access while at the park. We have designed a mobile application to put this information in the hands of visitors, enriching their overall park experience. Application features include customizable trail loops, information on gardens, park maps and a GPS-enabled plant lookup capability that easily locates plants around app users. Our project has involved a research phase, app sketching, wireframing, usability tests and an interactive prototype built in Axure. Stop by to see the final design and learn all about the application features!

Reed College is in the early phases of a joint library-IT project to improve undergraduate research skills, especially for sophomores and juniors. Numerous studies have focused on the first-year experience, but none have explicitly looked at how sophomores and juniors make the transition to conducting course-related research independently. This project serves as a needs assessment for the broader initiative. We gathered information by conducting and analyzing faculty and student focus groups and also implemented a student survey. Our findings indicate that while most students understand the importance of quality resources, they often struggle to understand faculty expectations and to integrate all the facets of the research process into a unified whole. Based on these findings, we make several recommendations: earlier introduction to research methods, projects broken into manageable parts with clear expectations, better promotion of available services and technologies, and integrated classroom training and introduction to discipline-based research practices.

Shrinking Department of Defense budgets have resulted in a greater focus on IT project expenses. The Defense Integrated Military Human Resource System (DIMHRS) was cancelled after seven years of development and expenditures of approximately a billion dollars. My project is a case study examining the risks faced and encountered by a major Department of Defense ERP project. Through interviews and examination of relevant documents, the identification of three primary risks emerged focusing on the complex stakeholder requirements, service resistance, and an inadequate management structure resulting in the project’s failure. Lessons learned from the DIMHRS failure can benefit other IT projects through the identification of show-stopper risks that prevent systems from being developed on time and within budget.