Portrait photo of Katya Borgos-Rodriguez

Katya Borgos-Rodriguez

katya.borgos [at] gmail.com

GitHub logo LinkedIn logo

Current Projects


Studying Participation among Disabled Creators in Online Marketplaces

This project seeks to understand how disabled creators (e.g., YouTubers, illustrators, graphic designers) sell and promote their work in online marketplaces.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews, online observations, qualitative analysis
Publications: CSCW 2021

Past Projects


Understanding Accessible Crafting among Blind Weavers

This study analyzed how blind weavers approach their work practice and explored the development of an audio-enhanced loom to support their weaving experiences.

Methods: Ethnographic field observations, semi-structured interviews, qualitative analysis, prototyping, usability testing
Publications: TACCESS 2021 | CHI 2020

Understanding Life Experiences and Technology Use Among Parents of Disabled Children

This project involved an analysis into how parents of disabled children participate in a video-based social platform and unpacks potential implications of this practice.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews, online observations, qualitative analysis
Publications: CSCW 2019

Exploring the Accessibility and Appeal of Surface Haptics for Children

Created new applications for the T-PaD, a tablet that provides tactile feedback as the user glides their finger across the screen. This research sought to understand the potential of creating applications for learning on this device to support children with developmental disabilities and parent-child collaborative learning.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews, video analysis, mixed methods analysis, prototyping, usability testing
Tools: Unity, C#
Publications: IDC 2019

Studying Collaboration among Older Adults, Families and Socially Assistive Robotics

Supported data collection efforts for experiment to understand how robots as moderators might affect group interaction during collaborative games. I also developed a tablet-based traditional Checkers game to be included and tested in subsequent experiments.

Methods: Prototyping, observations
Tools: Python, Javascript, Robot Operating System

Identifying Patterns of Conformity on a Social Network for Children

This project studied participation in a social networked designed for children to understand patterns of online conformity among children. Findings suggest that conformity factors may be influenced by social relationships. These insights could contribute to the development of algorithms to identify cyberbullying activity and make the Internet safer for children.

Methods: Prototying, observations, mixed methods analysis
Tools: PHP, Javascript
Publications: Book Chapter

A Smart Phone App for Reducing Patients’ Time at Physicians’ Offices

This project sought to address a well-known problem in Puerto Rico of patients having to wait for prolonged periods of time when attending medical appointments. I developed an Android application where users could schedule appointments and receive notifications about their appointment, such as their position in queue. With this information, patients may opt to travel from their location to the physicians’ offices closer to the time they should be serviced instead of waiting for hours in the office.

Methods: Prototyping
Tools: Java, Android Studio