Abstract
Today, technology is part of almost every aspect of daily life, and it strongly shapes how
people receive information. My capstone project, Hoo Knows History, uses augmented reality to
address the incomplete portrayal of UVA’s history by presenting a more interactive and inclusive
version of it. It highlights often overlooked stories, such as Kitty Foster’s Canada and the
Rotunda fire of 1895, and I developed it to explore how digital tools can expand access to
missing or ignored perspectives. My STS research looks at a related issue by studying how
Google’s search algorithm shapes users’ understanding of the January 6th attack on the U.S.
Capitol, a topic I chose because search engines play a major role in how people learn about
political events. Both projects are connected because they show how technology influences
perception by shaping what information people see and how they interpret it.
Hoo Knows History addresses the problem that UVA’s history is often told in a limited
way, focusing on well-known people and buildings while leaving out important stories connected
to marginalized groups, such as enslaved workers. This leads to an incomplete view of the
university’s past. My project uses augmented reality to make these hidden histories easier to
access and connect them to the places where they happened, so users experience history in
context instead of only reading about it. The app was built using Unity and Vuforia, which let us
place digital images, 3D models, and narration onto real locations around UVA Grounds. Users
scan markers at historical sites to view content about three main case studies: Kitty Foster’s
Canada, the Rotunda fire of 1895, and the planned Confederate monument. We improved the app
through user testing and feedback to make it easier to understand and use.
Overall, Hoo Knows History shows that augmented reality can improve how people learn
about and understand history. By placing stories in the real locations where events happened, the
app helps users connect more directly with UVA’s past. It also makes lesser-known histories
more visible, which helps create a more complete view of the university’s history. The project
shows that design choices in technology affect what information people see and how they
understand it. Feedback from testing helped make the app more usable and clear for different
users. Overall, the project suggests that augmented reality can make history more engaging and
more inclusive by changing how information is presented and experienced.
My STS research asks how Google’s search algorithm shapes users’ understanding of the
January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. This question is important because many people rely on
search engines as a main source of information, even though these systems organize and rank
information in ways that can influence what users focus on and believe. To study this, I used a
small search audit where I compared Google results for similar queries across different users and
devices. I recorded autocomplete suggestions, top search results, snippet descriptions, and
ranking order. I also collected short survey responses from participants about their background,
prior knowledge of January 6th, and how they interpreted the results after searching.
Most participants saw very similar core sources, such as Wikipedia, Britannica, and
official government pages, but there were still small differences in how results were ordered and
how events were described in snippets and suggestions. These differences appeared in
autocomplete wording and in how headlines framed the event, even when the same sources were
shown. The survey responses helped connect these search results to user interpretation, since
participants sometimes described the event differently after searching, depending on what they
saw first or paid attention to. Overall, this suggests that Google does not fully separate users into
different information environments, but it can still shape interpretation through framing and
ranking choices. I conclude that the algorithm does not strongly divide users in this case, but it
still influences perception by organizing the same information in slightly different ways.
