�첥����

To prevent medical errors, information is key

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Wanda Pratt recalls encountering one hospital patient during her research at Seattle Children’s Hospital whose relationship with health care providers was so difficult that he refused to speak to them, and it was interfering with his care. “How can you treat somebody if you can’t talk to them and they’re not going to talk to you back?” she asked. When patients and physicians don’t communicate well, it can be a life-and-death matter. Medical errors rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States, responsible for more than 250,000 deaths per year. Many of those er

MSIM student to serve as gonfalonier at UW Commencement

Friday, April 7, 2017

Andy Herman, a graduating Master of Science in Information Management student, was selected by the Graduate School to be one of only two master’s students from the UW Seattle campus who will serve as gonfaloniers – banner carriers – at the Commencement ceremony on June 17 in Husky Stadium. Gonfaloniers are nominated by their program advisors and exemplify graduate education at the UW: excellence in learning, teaching, mentoring and/or research. They are announced by name as they enter the stadium, featured in the commencement program, and sent to the news media for recognition.

In DataLab, students find truth in numbers

Monday, April 3, 2017

Those stories about successful head transplants and bull semen in energy drinks? Clearly bogus. But what about the peer-reviewed journal article on DNA sequencing that uses fabricated data? How about a scientific line graph that shows zero change in global temperatures over 135 years? Or a hyped-up article published in a predatory journal? How do you detect what’s fake, break it down, analyze, evaluate, and debunk it? Teaching UW students those sophisticated reasoning skills is a prime goal at the iSchool’s DataLab, where a team of visionary researchers is working to build a more dat

UW highlights iSchool's touchscreen work

Monday, April 3, 2017

Today’s touchscreen world threatens to leave behind a lot of people with motor impairments, but iSchool Ph.D. candidate Martez Mott is working to change that with “Smart Touch.” The project aims to make touch devices intuitive and accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they touch with a finger, a palm or the back of a hand. The University of Washington highlighted Mott’s work with “Smart Touch” and Ability-Based Design in a feature story on its home page. The story delves into Mott’s research at Provail, a local center that helps people with disabilities. The nonprof

In Mexico, students help shape library

Thursday, March 30, 2017

What makes a library? It depends upon the people it serves. And creating a library that truly benefits its community requires careful planning and deep understanding. A group of students from the iSchool, with the guidance of Associate Professor Ricardo Gomez, are helping create the first Tseltal language library in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Gomez and several students visited Chiapas earlier this year to work on the library for the Tseltal Maya, one of 25 indigenous Mayan groups in southern Mexico and Central America. The work is part of a larger effort at community development, incl

In new class, students get to start 'Calling Bullshit'

Thursday, March 30, 2017

“There is SO MUCH bullshit,” Carl Bergstrom declared on Wednesday, starting off the inaugural lecture in a new Information School course, “Calling Bullshit in the Age of Big Data.” Bergstrom, a biology professor, and Jevin West, an assistant professor in the iSchool ran through a litany of ways information can be manipulated to hide the truth. Their examples included flowery language, corporate speak and misleading graphics drawn from such arenas as news, politics, startup culture, science and, of course, higher education. At one point in Wednesday’s lecture, Bergstrom even cal

Families bonded over 'Pokémon GO,' researchers find

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Last summer’s “Pokémon GO” phenomenon had several side benefits for parents who joined with their kids to try to “catch ‘em all,” according to new research from the University of Washington Information School and Human Centered Design & Engineering. UW Today writes that parents reported increased exercise, more time outdoors, and more opportunities for family bonding, thanks to the game in which players capture digital creatures from the Pokémon franchise on their mobile devices by finding them in real-world locations. The research team’s findings are detailed in

iSchool’s diversity initiatives are all-inclusive

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Sunny Kim worked in nonprofits for 10 years before returning to school for a Master in Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree. Despite a personal passion for diversity, Kim hadn’t anticipated putting a lot of energy into shaping the culture of the iSchool, because change at an institution its size could take years. Kim was pleasantly surprised. Now an Information Diversity Ambassador (iDA), Kim is part of a group of volunteer undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students who act as contacts for prospective students. “What I’ve noticed about the iSchool is that they both valu

iSchool MLIS program rises to #2 in U.S. News rankings

Monday, March 13, 2017

The University of Washington Information School moved up to No. 2 in the latest rankings of U.S. master’s degree programs in library and information science by U.S. News & World Report. The rankings of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” were released March 14. iSchool Dean Harry Bruce celebrated the ranking as a sign of the school’s rigorous academic standards and high stature among its peers. “The ranking of the UW iSchool as second in the nation among schools that offer programs in the library and information sciences is well-deserved recognition of our commitment to the

Research Fair showcases iSchool's impact

Friday, March 10, 2017

Information School researchers got a chance to celebrate and share their work at the 2017 iSchool Research Fair. The March 9 fair featured 64 posters and exhibits representing the breadth and depth of research at the iSchool. The exhibits addressed topics such as how rumors spread during a crisis, open data initiatives at libraries, accessibility efforts in teaching and computing, and dozens of other projects undertaken by iSchool faculty, students and research staff. During her remarks at the event, Carole Palmer, Associate Dean for Research, lauded the “extraordinary collective o

Our core value of inclusion enriches the iSchool community

Thursday, March 9, 2017

Life changes have a way of putting one in a reflective mood. As I approach the end of my tenure as dean of the iSchool, I’ve been thinking a lot about the School’s sense of community, and just how precious and important that is. Every single individual in our community is vital, and we saw an illustration of that last fall when we lost a member of our iSchool family. After one of our instructors, James Farricker, passed away tragically and unexpectedly, the School pulled together in countless ways. Faculty rallied to teach the remainder of his cybersecurity course, and staff ensured

iSchoolers in the running for iConference best paper awards

Friday, March 3, 2017

Information School Ph.D. students Li Zeng, Travis Windleharth and Marc Schmalz, along with Assistant Professors Emma Spiro and Jason Yip and Associate Professor Jin Ha Lee are among the finalists for best paper awards at iConference 2017. Zeng and Spiro teamed with Zack Almquist of the University of Minnesota on their nominee for Best Completed Research Paper, entitled “Let’s Workout! Exploring Social Exercise in an Online Fitness Community.” The paper explores the dynamics of social interaction using data collected from an online fitness community popular with cyclists and runners. T

iSchool takes lead role in UW-UBC urban data partnership

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

The Information School will have a leading role in a regional partnership announced recently between the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia. The partnership, dubbed the Cascadia Urban Analytics Cooperative, will use data to help cities and communities address challenges such as traffic and homelessness. Made possible by a $1 million gift from Microsoft, it’s the largest industry-funded research partnership between the UW and UBC. UrbAnalytics, a project led by Associate Professor Bill Howe, will take the lead on the UW’s side of the collaboration, which wi

Michelle Martin's Read-a-Rama program fights the 'summer slide'

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

“The more diverse the kids, the better.” That is how Michelle Martin, Beverly Cleary Professor for Children and Youth Services, described the secret to the success of her 6-year-old Camp Read-a-Rama program. Conceived while Martin taught English at Clemson University, Camp Read-a-Rama uses books and literacy activities as a springboard for all of the other hands-on and outdoor activities that camp offers, including crafts, games, swimming, and field trips. Children, ages 4 to 11, from a range of socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds and of varying skill levels, attend. Ca

Wobbrock, MAD Lab make technology accessible for all

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Designers embed certain assumptions about people’s abilities into the technologies they create. Take, for example, the touchscreens on our computers, tabletops, tablets, and smartphones.  “Touchscreens assume people can point a finger, suspend an arm, reach out, and land cleanly. That’s a lot of assumptions. What if someone can’t do those things?” asks Jacob O. Wobbrock, director of the Mobile and Accessible Design Lab (MAD Lab), a center of innovation housed at the iSchool that makes everyday technologies accessible to people who have