Chris Coward

Chris Coward is senior principal research scientist and affiliate associate professor at the University of Washington Information School. Coward studies how people engage with new information and communication technologies—their perceptions, interests, and challenges—with the aim of developing new ways for individuals and communities to achieve greater agency in their use of technology. He is particularly interested in populations who face barriers, both in the Global South and in wealthier communities. Much of his work is situated in public libraries where he uses participatory methods to co-design, test, and evaluate new interventions. Many of Coward’s projects are rooted in the literacy fields—information, digital, media, and civic. His current focus is misinformation, an area that has led him to reimagine new forms of building the knowledge and skills needed to better navigate misinformation. This pursuit led to a collaboration with game researchers and designers where he develops escape rooms and other games as an immersive medium for people to experience and build resistance to misinformation.