Capstone Projects | Information School | University of Washington

Funding Finder: Connecting WA Small Businesses to Funding

Small businesses have been hit hard by COVID-19 and need support to stay in operation. Recognizing that not all communities have equal information access, Team kala worked with the Washington State Department of Commerce to create Funding Finder, a website that connects small businesses to funding opportunities, assistance organizations, and resources. During development, kala prioritized the needs of tribal small businesses, a community whose needs are often unmet. Funding Finder was designed alongside community representatives and business owners to offer an easy-to-use platform listing financial support to keep these businesses afloat and address information access.

Funds to Votes: Informing Curious Voters on their Representatives' Campaign Finances

According to AP-NORC, 53% of Americans know nothing or very little about how money works in politics. After the Citizens United ruling allowed more money in politics, understanding campaign finance became more important than ever. Funds to Votes helps by displaying this data in a user-friendly and beginner researcher-friendly manner, allowing voters to make more informed decisions. Finally, in addition to helping ordinary citizens research their own representatives, our product is designed to aid endorsement groups in their research. This helps them decide who to endorse, which enables voters to select candidates according to their values.

Generally Readable Informative Documents (GRID)

Oftentimes, those with the most important messages to share have neither the time nor money to create the most effective media for communicating their messages to others. Research has been done on this topic; however, it is largely inaccessible in both cost and writing. GRID is a free, readable, research-based web guide on how to write more readable documents, aimed at those working for social good. It takes research-based guidelines and professional industry practices and makes them easy to digest and implement for any screen-based document.

GetMDPP: Reducing Type 2 Diabetes Risk with Web Matching Platform

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in the US has been growing despite it being preventable through lifestyle changes. Unclear communication between healthcare providers and diabetes prevention programs makes it challenging for people at risk to seek and receive the help they deserve. Building off our sponsor’s alpha of a web-based matching application, we met an epidemiologist, an economist, healthcare providers, and prior participants of the Medicare’s Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) to make the web application more accessible. GetMDPP provides a way for at-risk individuals to be informed about and connect to MDPP and change their lives for the better.

Hearing Aid App: Everyone Deserves To Hear

Hearing impairment is a common health issue among seniors in the US. Due to social stigma, costliness, and limited awareness, many do not seek help with their hearing health in time, or even at all. Moreover, the cost of hearing aids and audiologist appointments costs thousands even with insurance. Additionally, present smart technology pairing solutions are either unsuccessful, or designed inefficiently. Working with Sound Sustainability, a hearing health company, our project aims to not only provide resources for affordable OTC hearing aids, but also develop an easy-to-use mobile app that pairs with hearing devices and allows for easy consumer control.

Hook and Tell: The online solution for fish catch reporting

In the State of Washington, catches of popular fish species are reported by recreational fisherman through paper cards. With this system, only an estimated 15 percent of fish catches are reported. Hook and Tell solves this problem by giving users a digital solution to report their catches and connect with other fisherfolk. Our platform will increase the catch reporting on recreational fishing, resulting in an increase in data and resources for Washington State to better protect its fish and wildlife.

How to Know What You Don't Know: An OER for Information Literacy

In many cases, information literacy instruction in academic settings is something that occurs piecemeal and predominantly in the first year. I set out to design an Open Educational Resource that will help ensure students towards the end of their academic careers have a solid foundation in information literacy by reminding them of earlier lessons and filling in any blanks. With the help of the instructional librarians at Occidental College, I have produced the course plan for this resource, which will supplement the instructional efforts of librarians and ensure our students reach their senior year and beyond as information literate individuals.

IIIF and Mirador at UW Libraries

In IIIF and Mirador at UW Libraries, I sought to understand how the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) functions and how the IIIF-compliant Mirador Image Viewer can be used at UW Libraries. All images in the UW Libraries Digital Collections are IIIF-compliant and viewable in Mirador, but this function is underutilized by staff and researchers. After interviews with Libraries staff and my own extensive research, I created three mini-tutorials on accessing and using Mirador. The tutorials take the viewer through using the Mirador Classic Image Viewer features, loading two or more images, and loading images from other IIIF-compliant institutions.

iKeep for iSchool

Students spend thousands of dollars on a university degree only to forget much of the information learned a few years later. Research shows reviewing information regularly is the key to building long-term information recall. iKeep is a mobile app which provides users with quick, targeted questions based on University of Washington iSchool curriculum to improve recall over time. The mobile application assists students who have taken iSchool core courses in retaining these fundamental skills to remain competitive in both their academic and professional careers.

Improved Interface and Alignment between the Pima County Public Library and Friends of the Library

This project applied insights gained from surveys, focus groups, interviews, and meetings with library administrators, managers, and staff, and volunteers from several Friends of the Library groups. The goal was to inform a new Library administrative liaison role between the Friends and the Library. We began to create training materials, a toolkit for library staff and friends. Next steps involve revision and refinement of existing Friends agreements and charters to support a fruitful partnership. The project team involved collaboration with a library administrator and a consultant on non-profit organizational success, as well as Friends volunteers.

iSchool Capstone

2021