To address rising textbook costs, California’s governor gave $20,000 to each community college to lay the foundation for establishing zero-textbook cost (ZTC) degree pathways. This project assists in building that foundation for Mendocino College by streamlining the textbook adoption process for faculty and increasing the accessibility and visibility of course materials in the discovery layer. By doing this, there are now centralized access points available to all users to find course materials. This project not only improves UX and UI of the library’s ILS, but also compiles existing information to later be used by the Institutional Research Office.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused decreasing public elementary school student engagement yet increasing comfort with low-quality online teaching. This is contributing to falling student reading capability and teachers' lack of incentive to challenge their students further through the incorporation of a science curriculum, leaving students underprepared to handle the increase in greener initiatives. To address these informational gaps, Sprout aims to deliver to elementary school students from grades 1-3 an interactive web-based storybook that introduces environmental education while increasing reading proficiencies by incorporating elements of both the English Language Arts Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.

Aeyesafe is developing real-time monitoring and accident alerting devices to provide critical health data to caregivers to detect and prevent falls. Falls are one of the most significant risks to senior safety. Senior assisted care facilities are finding ways to protect senior safety better as it puts the mind at ease of their loved ones. From user interviews and usability testing, we learned there is an urgent need for a live time senior monitoring solution, and improving user experience enhances the usability and functionality of Aeyesafe technology.

Misinformation is an escalating threat to modern society. Seemingly unlimited access to an ever-increasing volume of information allows for false or inaccurate content to spread easily. We look to ensure that everyone has the intellectual and social tools to be resilient and contributing members of our information society. "Are You Nuts?" is a free online collaborative game designed to empower players to combat misinformation in a remarkably fun, amusing, and innovative manner. Our game teaches players to engage in healthy information consumption and sharing habits, helps raise awareness of information vulnerabilities, and builds compassionate concern for others.

For beginner fashion creatives hoping to break through in the fashion industry, finding an inclusive community to work, learn, and grow from can be daunting. We designed Artistree, a mobile application, to connect fashion creatives to those nearby them where they can receive support, collaborate on projects together, attend workshops, and share their creations. Artistree leverages technology to build a welcoming community that helps people develop their skills and demonstrates that mistakes are a part of fashion artistry.

BARK! is a platform that provides digital companionship with a virtual support animal. While traditional emotional support animals are a great resource for those who are struggling with their mental wellbeing, they remain inaccessible to many who could benefit from a support animal. Through simple interactions with the virtual pet, mental check-ins, assistance with scheduling, and information about real emotional support animals, BARK! strives to provide individuals with a sense of companionship and support that a traditional emotional support animal would provide, in a significantly more accessible medium.

Research shows that over half of American households engage in gardening activities, with a rise of over 18 million new gardeners since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, what has also been on the rise is global greenhouse gas emissions. Our solution is Carbonet – a platform for new gardening enthusiasts to reduce their carbon footprints through home gardening. Through our virtual, personalized trackers and community features, home gardeners can not only reach new milestones in gardening more efficiently, but can also make a measurable difference in combating global climate change.

The Mediterranean Diet has been scientifically shown to improve people’s cognitive abilities. However, there is currently no nutrition app on the market specifically for elderly patients with early-onset dementia. Our team sought to create a new app based on the Mediterranean Diet app, Olitor, and increase the app’s accessibility for patients with early-onset dementia. Through usability testing, we found that relevant users wanted an interface with enlarged text, simplified language, and the option to record their nutrition more frequently. We thus implemented these features into our app so that this population can reach their nutritional goals and lead healthier lives.

Fiction subject tagging in libraries is largely ineffectual for a variety of reasons—e.g. a lack of robust, open-access vocabularies, the difficulty and time commitment of assessing the contents of fiction, and unsuitable software. In partnership with Fiction Filters: Taxonomy for Adult Fiction, who created our core vocabulary of tags, we created a website in which users tag previously read books in subject areas such as character traits and tropes, using their own or pre-existing tags. This gives power to readers to highlight what they find most important and appealing about books, browse by personal interests, and filter out unwanted content.

Young people in college often have problems with debt management, don't have access to financial classes, and set fewer financial goals. To address these problems, we created a mobile application that connects low-income young adults to pro-bono financial advisors for individualized support. Users will be able to track their financial progress at their own pace and get one-on-one coaching with their advisors regarding their goals or concerns. Our app will help more young adults learn how to manage their credit and debt, and create the habit of setting financial goals that fit their lifestyle in the long term.