The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida hosted over 18,000 attendees from more than 60 countries at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) from November 30 through December 3. The four-day event brought together the Services, government agencies, industry and academia. I/ITSEC participants attended formal conference presentations and explored the sprawling 220,000 square-foot convention hall where over 500 companies and organizations exhibited the latest technologies and products for military training, simulation, and education.

In the ADL exhibit booth at I/ITSEC 2009, we displayed our programs and achievements, shared plans for the future, and strengthened relationships for future collaborations. In conjunction with the conference, ADL Initiative Director Paul Jesukiewicz also hosted the inaugural Worldwide ADL Directors Meeting. In addition to showing a strong presence in our booth, we are proud to report that more than 30 vendors, agencies and other organizations that use ADL’s technologies and collaborate with ADL on projects displayed small ADL flags imprinted with our “The Power of Global Collaboration” slogan in their own exhibit booths. We also displayed a map of the exhibit hall highlighting the locations of booths flying the ADL flag to make it easier for visitors to find them.

In the presentation area of our exhibit booth, more than 300 people viewed 46 brief presentations delivered by ADL staff, ADL Partnership Lab directors, and agencies that collaborate with ADL. Topics included serious games, mobile learning, federated registries, the future of SCORM, the S1000D Bridge Project, and briefings about the activities of various ADL Partnership Labs.  

First Worldwide ADL Directors Meeting Draws ADL Network Members from Around the Globe 

The Directors of ADL’s network of Co-Labs and Partnership Labs met as a group for the first time ever in an event held in conjunction with I/ITSEC. They received briefings about ADL’s status, shared information about their individual programs, and discussed ways to increase their global collaboration and partnership activities in the future. Paul Jesukiewicz, Director of the ADL Initiative, hosted the meeting at the Orange County Convention Center on 30 November 2009.

Meeting participants included:

• Dr. Kristy Murray, Director, ADL Co-Labs
• Mr. Rovy Branon, Director, Academic Co-Lab
• Mr. Paul Bardack, Director, Center for Online Workforce Development
• Mr. Bill Railer, Director, Canada ADL Partnership Lab
• Mr. Alex Gosselin, Manager, Canada ADL Partnership Lab
• Dr. Fanny Klett, Director, German Workforce ADL Partnership Lab
• Ms. Yeowon Park, Korea National IT Industry Promotion Agency, Korea ADL Partnership Lab
• Mr. Jin Gon Shon, Professor, Korea National Open University, Korea ADL Partnership Lab
• Mr. José Cartas, Director, Latin America and Caribbean Region ADL Partnership Lab
• Dr. Sara Mota, Technical Advisor of the General Director, Latin America and Caribbean Region ADL Partnership Lab
• Cdr (SG) Hans Peder Mogensen, Commanding Officer, Norway ADL Partnership Lab
• Lieutenant Commander Geir Isaksen, Acting Director, Norway ADL Partnership Lab
• Dr. Professor Ion Roceanu, Director, Romania ADL Partnership Lab

Also attending were:

• Mr. Daniel E. Gardner, Director, Readiness and Training Policy and Programs, Office of the Secretary of Defense
• Mr. Paul Chatelier, CAPT, MSC, USN (Ret.), Research Associate Professor, Naval Postgraduate School
• Mr. Tom Archibald, ADL Project Manager
• Mr. Wayne Gafford, Director, ADL Job Performance Technology Center
• Mr. Angelo Panar, ADL Enterprise Strategist

The directors remarked that the meeting was very informative and declared their intentions to follow-up with additional meetings and discussions throughout 2010. They later toured the ADL exhibit booth and contributed to the presentation program; the directors also took advantage of the opportunity to meet people and network throughout the conference.

The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida will host I/ITSEC 2010 from 29 November through 2 December 2010.