Understanding Kids, AI, and Creativity
AI has increasingly become a talking point in todays world, our paper for CHI '24 explored children's experiences using AI for creative purposes, seeking to understand how it could help them feel more creative.
Hi! I am Michele.
Designing frameworks for sustainable digital culture.
I am a PhD candidate in the Information School at the University of Washington advised by Dr. Jin Ha Lee and Dr. Jason Yip. I explore how communities produce, organize, and preserve cultural knowledge through interactive media. I am an active member of the UW Gamer Group and the Digital Youth Lab, where I collaborate with KidsTeam UW and KidsTeam Seattle Public Libraries to co-design tools and frameworks that support creative learning and participatory knowledge practices. I hold a Master of Library & Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Denver and a Master of Music in Music Theory from Indiana University, Bloomington. Alongside my academic work, I’m also a musician and avid gamer—passions that often weave their way into my scholarly pursuits!
Research Interests
My research seeks to understand how interactive cultural software, ranging from creativity support tools to video games, can function as community-centered knowledge infrastructures. Drawing on frameworks Library & Information Science and Human–Computer Interaction, my work investigates how users produce, curate, and sustain cultural practices and media over time. My research aims to reframe digital interactive environments not just as tools for expression, but as lasting cultural infrastructures—where creativity, community storytelling, and knowledge formation are intentionally captured, organized, and preserved. By building systems and knowledge structures rooted in participatory design and cross-disciplinary approaches, I work to support equitable, accessible, and community-informed cultural heritage in the digital age. My key areas of interest are:
A Few Highlights
While I am lucky to be able to work on a lot of projects. I have highlighted a few below!
Particpatory Media and Game Preservation
Preserving video games has been a challenge, especially with the increasing amount of games each year. Our paper for ASIS&T '24 looks at the possibilities of YouTube content as a possible supplement for other forms of game preservation.
Co-Designing Games for Misinformation in Libraries
Over the past two years, we have worked with Seattle Public Library to develop a set of games to help children understand misinformation.