About the Institute
Purpose
The Australian Digital Futures Institute (ADFI) is the centrepiece of USQ’s ambition 'to be recognised as a world leader in open and flexible higher education' (USQ 2020 Vision) and of its competitive business advantage, which is 'providing the highest quality educational experiences to students, irrespective of their location or lifestyle' (USQ Strategic Plan 2009-2013).
Goals
ADFI's goals are underpinned by research with the relationship between learning and innovation at the heart of the research agenda. Our reputation is based upon ADFI's contribution to higher education practice at national and international level, where Institute staff and Associates are researching in areas that have a direct impact on curriculum design, the student experience, and research and scholarship. These activities are complemented by the work of doctoral students undertaking PhD study in related topics.
eResearch
eResearch is the application of advanced ICTs (information and communication technologies) to the practice of research. ADFI works with USQ research centres to foster eResearch skills. ADFI has developed a set of technology platforms for eResearch. In particular, the Integrated Content Environment (ICE) and The Fascinator provide flexible platforms for developing and delivering open access research.
Research workflows: The ICE system has been used as the basis for several explorations of web-enabled scholarship which will change scholarly publishing allowing for fully data-supported research publications. This work is summarised by Sefton (2008) in eResearch for Word users given at the eResearch Australia conference.
Institutional repositories: Institutional repositories, such as USQ ePrints are a key part of the eResearch infrastructure for Australia. ADFI staff have been involved in the Australian Institutional Repository sector for several years. The team has experience across a broad range of products and repository standards. See the CAUL Australian Institutional Repository Support Service (CAIRSS).
Research repositories: Based on having researchers “working in the repository” from the very beginning of the research lifecycle, The Fascinator software provides ontology and metadata management, data publication interfaces, collaboration services and contextual replication and backup. This work is well-aligned with the Australian National Data Service's Seeding the Commons program.
Interoperability and standards: ADFI works closely with Link Affiliates in the implementation of the e-Framework as a means for promoting common, service-based understanding of system functionality.
Contact us to discuss joint development possibilities.
eLearning
USQ’s 2020 vision is to be recognised as a world leader in open and flexible higher education. In our quest to provide the highest quality educational experiences to students irrespective of their location or lifestyle, ADFI’s portfolio of eLearning projects supports USQ’s commitment to technology enhanced learning as outlined in USQ’s Learning and Teaching Operational Plan 2007-2012 (PDF 61KB). Key initiatives include:
- easy to use content management systems that allow authors to blend traditional print publications with new media and the very latest in web-based delivery
- innovative eLearning systems and pedagogical approaches to assist the University in meeting the individual needs of students
- exploring and developing open source software solutions
- support with the design and sustainable implementation of new technologies and their learning applications
- actively seeking collaborations with others in the eLearning space.