The annual Defense GameTech Users'
Conference, to be held this year on September 3-5 at the Rosen Shingle
Creek in Orlando, Florida, is focused on the use of gaming technologies that enhance
warfighter training.
GameTech is a unique
opportunity not only for experts from around the world to discuss the advancement of gaming
technologies within the Department of Defense, but also for anyone interested in the
use of Serious Games that help both the military
and civilian organizations train, educate, and improve workforce performance
through the use of technology.
The Draft Agenda for 2014, updated on 08/29/2014,
includes experts from Government, Academia and Industry and the keynote speakers are leading
authorities in military training and commercial game development. Each of the
speakers are deeply immersed in serious gaming, virtual worlds, and mobile
learning, and will share their knowledge and thoughts on ways to ensure these
future technologies continue to be used to their full potential, specifically
for learning.
GOVERNMENT KEYNOTE
Manny Dominguez,
PhD., Deputy Chief Learning Officer(DCLO) for the Veterans Health
Administration, Employee Education System (EES)
Dr. Manny Dominguez is leading the effort to build
the first virtual medical center for the Veterans Health Administration.
“In order to enhance care delivery and
education, we’re embarking on a 21st century virtual hospital and learning
environment that gives patients and staff direct access to medical education,
wellness tools and hundreds of VA resources, anytime and anywhere,” Dominguez
said.
INDUSTRY KEYNOTE
Waymon Armstrong,
Co-Founder and President, Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS)
Armstrong is widely viewed as a visionary in
Modeling, Simulation and Training (MS&T), and is a strong proponent of
crossover technology, which applies military training tools to new markets,
including healthcare, education, the cruise industry and others. His company
was one of the first to venture into PC-based serious gaming, virtual world technologies and mobile devices.
Armstrong became one of the first defense
simulation and training companies to transition technologies to non-military
applications in the past five years when he began offering ECS technologies to
the Oil & Gas industry, transportation, education and medical/healthcare
sectors
“If you’re not constantly looking ahead,
scanning the horizon for market changes, and willing to take some risks, you
won’t survive today’s highly competitive, ever-evolving technology environment.
ECS was one of the first to recognize the power of Serious Games and, as with
other technology areas, we took the risk to invest in a future that provides a
personal and realistic learning capability that is helping, not only our
military, but also students from many other business areas, including the next
generation learner,” Armstrong said.
GAMES KEYNOTE
Eric Preisz, Chief
Executive Officer for GarageGames
Widely known for the development of the open
source game engine Torque 3D, Preisz is very familiar with GameTech, having
previously attended the event. As this year's Games Keynote speaker, Preisz
will share his thoughts on the current state of gaming and the impact it's
making in a multitude of industries.
“One of the truly growing areas in game
development is in education, and GarageGames is working on education projects
including game development curriculum and location-based entertainment,” Preisz
said. “It’s now recognized that
traditional methods of classroom instruction are becoming less effective in our
growing technological era, and events like GameTech allow those of us most
immersed in this field to get together, compare notes, and discuss future
trends.”
MOBILE KEYNOTE
Sara de Freitas,
PhD., Pro Vice Chancellor and Professor of Learning and Teaching, Murdoch
University, Australia
Dr. Sara de Freitas, is set as the Mobile
Games keynoter for Orlando’s upcoming GameTech conference. De Freitas will
present a distinctive, global view on gaming and mobile learning that focuses
on her diverse experience and research interests. Current research initiatives
are focused in learning analytics, technology enhanced learning, higher
educational policy and leadership and advanced educational games research and
development.
Complementing the keynote speakers, the conference has scheduled more than 45 sessions ranging from topics that include Serious Game design and discovering cost savings with game-based training, to components of medical virtual environment.
Attendees also have the opportunity for learning through hands-on experiences by visiting conference exhibitors, including: Bohemia Interactive Simulations, Havok, Virtual Heroes, Calytrix, Polhemus, SimSTAFF, AEgis, the UCF Institute for Simulation and Training, and National Center for Simulation.
Stay updated with all GameTech news including
post conference documents and surveys, plus info for next year’s conference
with Twitter (@DefenseGameTech)
and Facebook (Defense
GameTech User’s Conference) accounts.
GameTech 2014 Hosts
The NationalCenter for Simulation (NCS), along with Team Orlando, hosts the annual event.
NCS is a
non-profit trade association whose vision is to be the recognized leader in
supporting and expanding the modeling and simulation community. NCS is
committed to promoting modeling and simulation technology expansion, supporting
education and workforce development and providing business development support
to its members.
Team Orlando is
established by a Department of Defense Inter-Service Charter that builds upon a
partnership established between the Army and Navy over 60 years ago. Today,
Team Orlando members from Government, academia and industry are focused on one
common goal of improving human performance through simulation.
Team Orlando is composed of the primary military service
organizations responsible for research, development, acquisition, and life
cycle support for America’s military training, simulation, and test and
evaluation/instrumentation products and services, including commands from the
Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, as well as representation by the US
Coast Guard and Joint Forces Command.
Supporting and completing Team Orlando’s
composition are modeling and simulation, human performance and training
leaders in academia and industry, as well as Federal, State and Local
government organizations.