Center for Digital Initiatives
The mission of the Center for Digital Initiatives (CDI), a Center of Excellence, is to promote ASU's position as a leader in the use of virtual environments for cross-disciplinary teaching, research, and service. The CDI creates resources to foster collaborative and synergistic relationships within the university, the state, and the nation.
Video and audio examining the integration of digital technology into research and teaching and guiding your investigation of the digital world.
Find links to grants and other resources to help fund your projects in digital environments.
Calls for papers and conferences of interest to those invested in research and teaching in digital environments.
Virtual environment workshops are offered throughout the year for ASU faculty interested in learning how to work in Second Life or Open Sim.
ASU in Second Life:
Over the past five years there has been a marked increase nationally in the usage of virtual environments in the humanities and sciences, as well as significant interest in using these environments as teaching and research tools in universities. With the creation of its first "sim" in Second Life (SL) in April 2008 (the ASU Virtual Campus), ASU is riding the crest of this wave and with its diverse projects crossing all areas of the university is at the forefront of universities employing this digital tool. Our SL presence is growing. In October 2009 we added the ASU Heritage Island. In 2010 we added ASU Heritage South, ASU Campus West, and the ASU Digital Initiatives sim, and in 2011 we added the ASU Dyess Colony which is the Second Life home of the boyhood home of Johnny Cash. These sims ("simulated environments") have a tremendous amount of traffic from online visitors to the sites, and in June 2010 the Blueberry Gallery on the ASU Virtual Campus was designated a Top Ten Destination in Second Life by Linden Labs, the parent company of Second Life.
The Arkansas Multi-User Instrument DataBase (AMUIDB) is a tool designed to assist researchers in locating and scheduling use of instrumentation needed for cutting edge research and innovation. Each of the participating research institutions and affiliates play key roles in expanding the STEM research capabilities and educational outreach activities of the ASSET Initiative, a $24 million National Science Foundation Experimental Program for Stimulating Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR) project administered by the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority. Arkansas ASSET Initiative has aligned the research focal areas and workforce plans with focal themes identified as areas of economic growth opportunities for Arkansas by the Arkansas Research Alliance Battelle study and the research and development areas for Arkansas identified by the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority. ASSET Initiative consists of three centers: Plant Powered Production (P3),Probe Station Vertically Integrated Center for Transformative Energy Research (VICTER) and the Arkansas Center for Generating Reliable, Energy Efficient, Nanoplasmonic Solar Cells (GREEN) Each center is a multi-campus, interdisciplinary cluster that creates the critical mass needed for transformative research aimed at increasing industry-relevant outcomes (e.g. new start-up companies).
News & Events
4/15/13 The new ASU Campus Tour goes live! Check it out on the ASTATE website.
11/30/12 Try out Strike2Quit, a smoking cessation app we created for the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program called "Strike2Quit." Strike2Quit is a three-level simulated bowling environment integrated with Facebook and populated with useful quit tips that can help smokers learn more about smoking cessation and serve as an effective smoking cessation tool. The game is available for download on smart phones and iPads and is now available in the iTunes store. The CDI has also developed a website for the game, which includes quit tips and a smoking cessation log. Visit the website to learn more about this smoking cessation tool!
10/8/12 The latest Camfil Farr animation is now live! Check it out on the video page!
The Center for Digital Initiatives was recently notified by the NEH that we will be hosting an NEH Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities summer institute, Humanities Heritage 3D Visualization: Theory and Practice, during the summer of 2013. The training institute focuses on practical and theoretical approaches to 3D real-time visualization of cultural heritage sites for twenty humanities scholars and will take place for two weeks on the ASU-Jonesboro campus, and then a week at UA-Fayetteville. Check it out at http://www.humanitiesheritage.com!
8/27/12 The new Facebook game for smoking cessation created for the Department of Health, Strike2Quit, goes live! Contact us if you are interested in trying out this incredible new game designed to help with smoking cessation and increase awareness of the dangers of smoking.
The Dyess Colony (the boyhood home of Johnny Cash) is now completed in Second Life. Come visit us on the ASU Dyess Colony sim!