The first annual Advanced Learning Technologies Summit (ALT Summit) aims to explore how serious games, virtual worlds, social networks and technologies such as robotics and haptics can be leveraged to inspire, educate and train the “next-gen” workforce. It has announced its featured speakers for the inaugural conference:

From the press release, the presenters include:

Ben Sawyer, co-founder of DigitalMill and founder of the Serious Games Initiative, Games for Health, and Games for Change;

Doug Harward, chief executive officer of The Exceleration Group, founder of trainingindustry.com and trainingoutsourcing.com and a leader internationally recognized for his background in training and business process outsourcing;

Karl Kapp, professor of instructional technology at Bloomsburg University and scholar, writer and expert on the convergence of learning, technology and business operations; and

Anne Murphy, executive director of the Digital Promise Project, a coalition that has developed ground-breaking legislation for digital support of education.

The ALT Summit will offer tracks spanning learning in healthcare, education, government and business, and each track will deliver sessions on theory and research, practical applications, examples, and ideas for getting started and gaining support. Current sponsors include WakeMed, IBM, the American Research Institute, Wake Technical Community College, Virtual Heroes and Epic Games.

The ALT Summit will take place at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cary, N.C., on December 11-12, 2007.