The third Directors' Retreat for Conservation Education was held in Austin, Texas, from May 23 to May 25, 2006. The Getty Conservation Institute partnered with the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works and the Association of North American Graduate Programs in Conservation in offering the retreat, which focused on ways to employ Web-based technology more effectively to achieve teaching and learning goals in conservation education.

The program was supported by experts from the University of Texas System TeleCampus and School of Information. The retreat participants came from primarily academic conservation programs in North America, with several participants from Europe and Australia. Different approaches and tools used in e-learning were explored in both plenary and small-group sessions, taking into account classroom-based teaching, as well as blended and distance education. By the end of the retreat, the group had proposed several ideas for further investigation.

Debbie Hess Norris of the University of Delaware leading a discussion at the retreat. Photo: Foekje Boersma.

The participants also visited the University of Texas at Austin campus, including the Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record at the School of Information, the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center Conservation Department, and the new Blanton Museum of Art.

Further information on the Directors' Retreats for Conservation Education can be found on the Getty Web site.