Using Social Living Labs
The Fostering Digital Participation Project aims to identify the specific digital needs and practices of residents in regional and rural Australia in the context of the implementation of high speed internet, including the National Broadband Network. It has identified new ways for enabling residents to develop their digital confidence and skills at home and in the community. Research for the project has been undertaken through a “living labs” approach. Living labs are experimental spaces in which new ideas, approaches and solutions can be tried out. In a living labs approach, workshop participants work in collaboration with researchers to find new ways to participate with digital technologies.
The project aims to discover what residents living in regional and rural centres are currently doing with digital technologies – whether they are doing very little or a lot. The project also aims to find out what residents would like to be doing with digital technologies and how public services through libraries and other community organisations can help.
The Living Labs
MixHaus
MIXHAUS is a community-operated mobile hackmake space for the Townsville community.
Read moreStoryelling
Storyelling publishes digital stories for and by Toowoomba residents.
Read moreCool Clips
‘Cool Clips about Climate Change’ is a series of four stop motion animation workshops that were held at the City Libraries in Townsville between September and October 2015.
Read moreOakey Tutors
The Oakey home tutoring program: Fostering digital participation among home tutors teaching English to migrant women employed at the local abattoir.
Read moreEast Creek
The East Creek Community Centre (ECCC) living lab was established in Toowoomba following the FDPP project’s initial community consultation process, which took place through a series of interviews early in the project.
Read morePittsworth
Pittsworth Stories is a series of living lab experiences that aims to foster digital participation through community members’ interest in telling contemporary and historic local stories.
Read moreTestimonials
The Living Lab experience has produced positive results and has been praised by local community members.
The Fostering Digital Participation Project is led by
Queensland University of Technology
through the Children and Youth Research Centre.
The researchers involved are
The project has been conducted in the regional centres of
Toowoomba, Oakey, Pittsworth, Townsville and Thuringowa.
