Research shows that online mindfulness training is effective in reducing stress and increasing coping mechanisms among university students. beGreatful builds on these findings by providing an online platform with two key components students can use for mindful practices. The first component is an online gratitude journal designed to encourage mindful thinking through the completion of a journal entry. This helps students build the habit of taking time to reflect upon their day and foster a habit of positive thinking which can lead to increased resilience. The second component is an analytical feature designed to help users visualize patterns in their journal entries and be more aware of their thought patterns. This also reinforces the habit of writing journal entries everyday by providing a snapshot of each day and showing improvements overtime. The online platform will serve as a low-cost, accessible tool for college students to maintain a healthy mindset.

95% of all clothing items that are thrown away can be reused or recycled. Specifically, out-of-state college students who want to donate but are unfamiliar with the locations of donation bins end up contributing to this statistic. While there are so many resources to find donation bins, they are all scattered on different organizations’ websites. Searching through all of these resources to find the most convenient donation bin is time consuming and frustrating. The purpose of Binhub is to make it easier for university and college students to find donation bins around them by combining the necessary information into one central application. Users will be able to locate bins that accept different donation types and are owned by different organizations. By presenting this information in a comprehensive and integrated web application, we will help promote the donating of goods to those in need in the greater Seattle area.

The Frank Brockman Memorial Tree Tour takes visitors to explore 66 of the hundreds of tree species on the UW campus. The tour is currently given in the form of an informational black and white booklet, with each tree marked as a number over the campus map. Use of paper maps have switched in favor to real-time mapping and navigational services within mobile phones. Adapting the tree tour from the paper booklet to an Android application makes it easy for visitors to the UW to choose which trees they wish to visit on their tour, and GPS navigation makes tours simple and accessible. Not only does this app bring a new and interactive experience, it will result in an increased appreciation of the unique trees on campus through customized tours, sharing features, and user-to-tree navigation.

Today, indigenous communities in the Pacific Northwest are already experiencing the effects of climate change because their livelihood, customs and traditions are deeply tied to their environment. However, current climate change planning tools are designed for and by users with scientific backgrounds and are generally hard to scale in way that maximizes their potential impact. In collaboration with the CTERRA group from the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and students from Chief Kitsap Academy in Poulsbo, WA our team created a proof of concept application to address this information gap. ClimateImpact is a mobile and web application which includes a carbon accounting tool, visualization of environmental data, and encourages sustainable activities to users. In addition to bringing together quantitative data from various sources, our tool also places emphasis on the values and traditions of native communities in relation to environmental sustainability.

Co-Aud focuses on fostering a creative incubator for those interested in animating, game developing, and voice acting. Co-Aud aims to create a simple interface that will make collaborating between content creators and voice actors as easy as possible. Co-Aud will streamline the process for content creators to post an opportunity and to find the right voice actors/actresses the role. In addition, this will provide voice actors/actresses a way to increase their experience and skills. Not only will Co-Aud act as a central hub, it will also challenge the community with monthly contests. The goal is to connect communities in an organized and efficient manner to reach out and collaborate on communal projects. We would also like to provide a platform through which amateur voice actors can showcase their talents and contact others who are trying to get into the industry, and network with content creators who provide projects and feedback.

Although the internet provides a wide breadth of information in an extremely easy manner, a common issue people face -- regardless of the type of information -- is an overabundance of information. Services like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and GoGoBot provide lots of information, but do not always provide an easy way to whittle restaurant/activity choices to help a user make a decision. Moreover, the results of a search may not always be relevant to that user’s personal interests, due to how general the results are. Curato attempts to provide a single, convenient application to help users find businesses and points of interest relevant to their interests by taking advantage of simple machine learning algorithms.

Modern public libraries are a hub of innovation and information, but among all the valuable services libraries provide, research shows people still visit public libraries for one primary reason: To find books to read for pleasure. This project offers a new way to connect readers with books through an interactive quiz on the San Jose Public Library website. The quiz suggests books from the library’s collection that have been handpicked by library staff members. It can easily be reproduced to recommend books for a variety of genres and audiences, or even to suggest non-book items such as DVDs, eResources or library programs. By directing users to relevant and useful items within the library in their quiz results, this digital tool serves the community by providing expert recommendations and also helps market the library’s various collections and services. Finding your next favorite book has never been easier!

In many cultures, oral storytelling and folktales are an important tool for elders to share the intimate lore and cultural norms with future generations. Individuals and institutions are coming to the realization that generations of stories are being lost. Efforts to preserve these treasures have largely been dedicated to oral histories and personal narratives. Folk Mic is a publicly-accessible online repository for recordings of folktales. The project creates a framework for any storyteller, amateur to professional, to add their folktales and original stories. Furthermore, users are able to search for the stories using newly developed metadata and to develop more sophisticated metadata as the project grows in size. Folk Mic promotes the value of hearing and seeing a storyteller weave a tale rather than simply reading it. Now, future generations will have an online database where they can watch, hear, and record more storytellers.