Libraries pilot ‘The Euphorigen Investigation’ escape room

Red and black text that reads "The Euphorigen Investigation Escape Room" on a yellow background. To the left of the text are several icons, including a magnifying glass, an eye, and a blue file folder holding papers.

April 8, 2021

An investigative journalist suspiciously vanished last night, and the last thing they did was hand their laptop over to their trusted librarian. After opening the laptop and seeing the contents, the librarian grew alarmed and called you all in to help. The librarian knew the journalist was doing research on the company that makes Euphorigen,…

Escaping misinformation: How a digital escape room is combatting misinformation

Several wooden puzzles and toys sitting on top of a piece of dark blue cloth.

March 1, 2021

From small rumors to large conspiracy theories, social media and Internet communities have been overwhelmed with misinformation or false narratives that intentionally try to deceive the reader. Researchers from the University of Washington’s TASCHA, Center for an Informed Public, and GAMER Group, along with the co-founder of Puzzle Break, have teamed up to solve this…

2020: TASCHA year in review

The words "TASCHA Year in Review" written in a white font over an image of a red and purple sunset

January 28, 2021

As TASCHA’s 20th year comes to a close, the events of this past year are a reminder of why TASCHA was founded in the first place and why our work is more relevant than ever. Following are some TASCHA highlights from 2020.    Digital inclusion As the COVID-19pandemic hit the U.S., Stacey Wedlake, using data…

Creating the Digital Bridge: Methods

A man wearing a tan sweater talking on his cell phone outside.

January 21, 2021

Since the last update on the Digital Bridge project, we’ve completed our data collection for the project, and we’ve begun analysis. Throughout the course of the project, several people have expressed interest in our use of audio diaries as part of our methods. This post provides the nitty gritty on the methods and our initial…

Winter 2021 class — Misinformation Escape Room

November 3, 2020

Instructors: Chris Coward, Jinha Lee, Travis Windleharth Misinformation escape room is designed as a hands-on class for students to participate directly in an iSchool research project. The research team has completed the development of an online escape room intended to help participants learn about misinformation. We are now ready to deploy the escape room and…

First months of Creating the Digital Bridge

A woman sitting in front of her computer and talking on her mobile phone. She is wearing a white button up shirt and a tan headscarf.

October 30, 2020

The pandemic has forced even more of our lives to move online. In Seattle, much like the rest of the country, lower income households are significantly less likely to have a computer or internet at home and have lower than average levels of computer-based digital skills. Physical distancing requirements and the unpredictability of the virus…

Research Report: Technology Access & Education for Refugee Women in Seattle & King County

Smiling people working in a small group

September 30, 2020

Washington state consistently ranks among the top 10 U.S. states for refugee resettlement. The state welcomed more than 14,000 refugees in the past five years, and 1,930 refugees in 2019. Most of these refugees come from Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Somalia, and Ukraine. While the number of refugees resettled each year fluctuates…

Research on African Libraries in Development: Perceptions and Possibilities

September 15, 2020

Source: Afusat Ogunjimi, graduate of AfLIA Leadership Academy Cohort 1, Librarian, Oyo State Library Board, Nigeria.   By: Renee Lynch, Jason Young, Chris Jowaisas, Stanley Boakye-Achampong, and Joel Sam A Problem of Perception Over the past few years, TASCHA and African Library and Information Associations and Institutions (AfLIA) have been collaborating on the Advancing Library…

Technology Access and Education for Refugee Women in the Context of Covid-19

Two women wearing hijabs looking at a computer and a notebook

May 22, 2020

Local Context: Seattle & Refugee Women In Seattle, home of major technology giants like Amazon and Microsoft, twenty-five percent of people living in poverty do not have internet access at home and twenty-one percent do not have a mobile or smartphone. Many people also lack the skills to use technology effectively and are more likely to…

TASCHA Hiring Spring 2019 Research Assistant

January 16, 2019

The Information School’s Technology and Social Change Group (TASCHA) seeks a PhD student for spring quarter to be Research Assistant on our Advancing Library Visibility in Africa (ALVA) project.  The deadline to apply is January 25, 2019. See below and visit the job posting for more information. Responsibilities may include some or all of the…