More and more Australians are going online and are using the internet more intensively, according to ACMA’s latest research, Regional Australia in the digital economy. Importantly, there has been a huge jump in the use of mobile phone internet services for the almost 40 per cent of Australians living outside the six biggest capital cities. In communities with less than 1000 people one in three adults went online using their mobile phone during December 2013, compared to just one in 20 four years earlier. Across Australia, going online on mobile phones has seen a dramatic increase. Nationally, 46 per cent…

Local governments, institutions, companies, non-profit organisations are invited to apply for the 2015 Intelligent Community of the Year Awards Program.  The 2015 theme is the Revolutionary Community. The Intelligent Community Forum will focus on the study of urban and regional planning and how it is impacting the way people live, work and create in their cities and towns. The work of creating an Intelligent Community often begins in crisis. It may be a severe economic downturn after major employers relocate. It may be accelerating brain drain as the community’s most talented people leave in search of opportunity. Or it may…

Teachers and trainers who are new to e-learning or those already using e-learning content developed through the National VET E-learning Strategy, are set to benefit from the newly launched National VET Content website. This new site brings together thousands of freely available learning objects from the following national collections: Flexible Learning Toolboxes, Generic Skills, E-learning Innovations, Industry Integration of E-learning, and National Digital Learning Resources Network. Learning objects generally support an element or unit of competency. They are high quality, cost-effective, interactive e-learning and assessment resources featuring scenarios, images and activities covering a large range of topics, from aged care to plumbing and horticulture to food…

The deadline for entry in The Australian Innovation Challenge awards has been extended until 11 August. The awards, now in their fourth year, are helping to drive breakthroughs to commercialisation or adoption. This year, there is a Young Innovators category open to students under the age of 21 and carries a $5000 cash prize. Details of the awards, online entry form, category definitions, judging criteria, entry procedure, rules and stories on past winners, are available on the awards website. The five professional categories open to specialists (including scientists, engineers, technologists, educators and innovators in community services) are: Environment, Agriculture and…

THE stories of some of the Coast's colourful local identities have been captured in short digital stories as part of Sunshine Coast Council's 160 Characters project. Community Programs Portfolio Councillor Jenny McKay says 160 Characters shines the spotlight on the region's special characters of the past and present. "The 160 Characters project merges new technologies with the Coast's intangible heritage - using the visual format of the popular short film to capture the stories of places, people and communities." Read the full article in the Sunshine Coast Daily. Council has partnered in various projects to collect digital stories that tell…

Sunshine Coast-based business The Training Collective has been announced as one of 29 finalists in the 2014 Australia and New Zealand Internet Awards (ANZIAs) which recognise organisations, businesses and individuals who excel in delivering accessible, innovative, informative and secure resources to a diverse and wide community on the internet. The Training Collective’s Get Up To Speed program will go up against iiNET, The Deaf Society of NSW and the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s Cybersmart Program in the Access and Digital Skills category of the ANZIAs, with winners announced at the gala awards dinner on 25 August. A spin-off company…

Digital literacy is the new financial literacy, according to ICT Woman of the Year Yvette Adams who is offering five scholarships to her successful Get Up To Speed program. More than 650 people from around Australia and New Zealand have already completed the 12-week online program, but this is the first time scholarships have been offered to help people increase their digital skills. “Whether you are a parent wanting to keep up with your children and their use of technology, a professional wanting to ensure your skills stay current and employable, you want to start an online business or are already running your own business,…

As large and small organisations across the world respond to the big bang of digital disruption, how they grapple with the reality of disruption within short timeframes is increasingly the new measure of success, or failure, for investors, customers and employees. A new Deloitte report singles out six industries, representing one third of the $1.4 trillion Australian economy, that will be subject to the next big wave of disruption. The latest report is a follow up to the Digital disruption – Short fuse, big bang? Building the Lucky Country series, where Deloitte mapped how exposed Australia’s key 18 industries were to disruption. “Government…