Reflection - Visualization 

 Challenge   As a 17 year old student who has never had a paying job , the challenges that are available for   me to solve are n’t easily comparable to the examples given . Working with what I have , what I   chose to tackle is efficiency of systems in place at my local public library where I ’ve volunteered   for many years . Growing up in a time where technology advances very quickly , I ’ve seen shifts   made in many different systems I interact with , like computers / testing in school or the   implementation of computerized systems at the library . Being the guinea pig as a student as   administration is executing trial runs of new technology , I have seen what works and what is   very much broken . I ’ve learned that it ’s not a question of whether something functions 100 %   correctly all the time in all scenarios , but rather if it functions the majority of the time , and if it   does n’t , how easy is it to document and fix somewhere down the line . I ’ve interacted with a   variety of systems that are examples of opposite sides of a basic “ functioning ” spectrum . My   goal as someone with a youth ’s perspective on the matter was to guide and provide insight to   the older librarians . Some systems were out of our control as to how they functioned , however , I   helped provide a valuable perspective to what we as staff / volunteers could change .        Selection   I make use of visualization as a tool in helping individuals of different age groups / generations   come to a similar understanding of how what systems we were given to work with could best   suit us as well as patrons . Storytelling also works to serve this purpose , however visualization is   often best suited for the tasks at hand .        Application   Not every system whose efficiency was called into question by myself and others requires the   use of / is operated using technology . Some applications of visualization were “ how best to   organize a display of new children ’s books ” , easily solved by drafting ideas on a whiteboard .   Others were more complicated . As my time with the library progressed , the interests and   inclinations of a younger audience became my specialty . For example , in drafting posters or   emails meant to appeal to young adult patrons of the library , I help with wording as well as   layout of visuals .      One specific instance in which I was able to use visualization to my advantage was when I was   asked to help re - evaluate how the influx of new material donated to the library is sorted . As   someone who has spent many , many hours “ donation diving ” in the very large bin where   everything was haphazardly tossed into , I was overjoyed to finally have a change to streamline   the process . Through trial and error involving many rough sketches and notes , gathering   information from patrons and staff alike , we were able to come to a consensus about which   elements of the process could be changed and how . We now have more space set aside for   donation bins , which have also been separated into some general categories of items . For 

 example , there is now a smaller bin designated for CD / AV donations so they are less likely to be   crushed or snap inside the bin with heavier objects . It only takes a few seconds for patrons to   determine which bin their donation belongs in , and it saves staff and volunteers a whole lot   longer in sorting time .     Insight   My ability to clearly and concisely show my supervisors what I mean using visualization has   become a strong asset of mine . Just as Angela Meyer said in the course video on visualization ,   the more you practice and make use of the skill , the easier it becomes . I ’ve encountered   younger volunteers and staff members alike who do n’t think they are able to use visualization   because of their poor drawing skills . They initially lack the perspective to see how the tool is   more than just drawn pictures . With a bit of guidance , I can teach others how to turn something   they do n’t quite understand / are afraid of exploring into a tool they too can use to their   advantage .     Approach   People will always have differing views and thought processes . Visualization can act as an   equalizer for those involved in an idea , and while it is by no means perfect , it greatly aids in   helping participants see as close to eye to eye as they can . Looking back over the years I can   remember many times where keeping this in mind would have helped tremendously . The fact   that others do n’t share your vision / their minds work differently than yours and what makes   sense to you wo n’t necessarily click for someone else is an important lesson to learn , and even   more important to factor that in to how you present information . If I were given the chance to do   some things differently in that regard , I would have combined other design tools such as   storytelling with visualization in order to get my point across better . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection - Visualization 

 Challenge   As a 17 year old student who has never had a paying job , the challenges that are available for   me to solve are n’t easily comparable to the examples given . Working with what I have , what I   chose to tackle is efficiency of systems in place at my local public library where I ’ve volunteered   for many years . Growing up in a time where technology advances very quickly , I ’ve seen shifts   made in many different systems I interact with , like computers / testing in school or the   implementation of computerized systems at the library . Being the guinea pig as a student as   administration is executing trial runs of new technology , I have seen what works and what is   very much broken . I ’ve learned that it ’s not a question of whether something functions 100 %   correctly all the time in all scenarios , but rather if it functions the majority of the time , and if it   does n’t , how easy is it to document and fix somewhere down the line . I ’ve interacted with a   variety of systems that are examples of opposite sides of a basic “ functioning ” spectrum . My   goal as someone with a youth ’s perspective on the matter was to guide and provide insight to   the older librarians . Some systems were out of our control as to how they functioned , however , I   helped provide a valuable perspective to what we as staff / volunteers could change .        Selection   I make use of visualization as a tool in helping individuals of different age groups / generations   come to a similar understanding of how what systems we were given to work with could best   suit us as well as patrons . Storytelling also works to serve this purpose , however visualization is   often best suited for the tasks at hand .        Application   Not every system whose efficiency was called into question by myself and others requires the   use of / is operated using technology . Some applications of visualization were “ how best to   organize a display of new children ’s books ” , easily solved by drafting ideas on a whiteboard .   Others were more complicated . As my time with the library progressed , the interests and   inclinations of a younger audience became my specialty . For example , in drafting posters or   emails meant to appeal to young adult patrons of the library , I help with wording as well as   layout of visuals .      One specific instance in which I was able to use visualization to my advantage was when I was   asked to help re - evaluate how the influx of new material donated to the library is sorted . As   someone who has spent many , many hours “ donation diving ” in the very large bin where   everything was haphazardly tossed into , I was overjoyed to finally have a change to streamline   the process . Through trial and error involving many rough sketches and notes , gathering   information from patrons and staff alike , we were able to come to a consensus about which   elements of the process could be changed and how . We now have more space set aside for   donation bins , which have also been separated into some general categories of items . For 

 example , there is now a smaller bin designated for CD / AV donations so they are less likely to be   crushed or snap inside the bin with heavier objects . It only takes a few seconds for patrons to   determine which bin their donation belongs in , and it saves staff and volunteers a whole lot   longer in sorting time .     Insight   My ability to clearly and concisely show my supervisors what I mean using visualization has   become a strong asset of mine . Just as Angela Meyer said in the course video on visualization ,   the more you practice and make use of the skill , the easier it becomes . I ’ve encountered   younger volunteers and staff members alike who do n’t think they are able to use visualization   because of their poor drawing skills . They initially lack the perspective to see how the tool is   more than just drawn pictures . With a bit of guidance , I can teach others how to turn something   they do n’t quite understand / are afraid of exploring into a tool they too can use to their   advantage .     Approach   People will always have differing views and thought processes . Visualization can act as an   equalizer for those involved in an idea , and while it is by no means perfect , it greatly aids in   helping participants see as close to eye to eye as they can . Looking back over the years I can   remember many times where keeping this in mind would have helped tremendously . The fact   that others do n’t share your vision / their minds work differently than yours and what makes   sense to you wo n’t necessarily click for someone else is an important lesson to learn , and even   more important to factor that in to how you present information . If I were given the chance to do   some things differently in that regard , I would have combined other design tools such as   storytelling with visualization in order to get my point across better .
### Output: 