A group of people talk while working at a table inside a library

Small group discussion on Web-based teaching and learning for conservation

The Conservation Institute held its third Directors' Retreat for Conservation Education in partnership with the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) and the Association of North American Graduate Programs in Conservation (ANAGPIC) from May 23 to 25, 2006, at the Crossings conference center in Austin, Texas. The retreat focused on the use of web-based technology to achieve teaching and learning goals in conservation education.

AIC, the Conservation Institute, and ANAGPIC share an interest in using the web as an educational tool, and in understanding the potential opportunities it offers to conservation educators. The objectives of the retreat were to:

  • give participants an idea of the uses and impact of technology on both higher and continuing education
  • develop a better understanding of the potential of web technology for conservation educators
  • consider ways of building upon the growing collective experience for using the web in both teaching and learning

The main speakers at the retreat were Michael Anderson, manager, Course Development and Technology for the University of Texas System TeleCampus, and Mary Lynne Rice-Lively, associate dean, University of Texas at Austin School of Information. The meeting discussions were facilitated by Sherwood and Eunice Shankland.

Participants came from academic programs and conservation organizations in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States. Several of the academic programs had experience in using the web in either classroom-based or distance education courses. As a result, during the three days of the retreat discussions drew upon the experiences of these participants while also exploring—through both facilitated discussions and small group exercises—additional internet-based opportunities for teaching, learning, and collaboration. Different approaches and tools for both classroom-based teaching and blended and distance learning were presented.

The retreat also included an overview of open-source initiatives within academe and how they may impact the way didactic resources are created, used, and shared in the future. By the end of the retreat, specific ideas for collaborative activities had been identified including a pilot project on blended learning, development of an online science tutorial, and an online resource for conservation educators.

On the final day of the retreat, participants visited 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—all part of the University of Texas at Austin.

2006 Directors' Retreat participants

Catherine Atkinson, Head of Conservation Training and Development, British Library

Foekje Boersma, Project Specialist, Education, Getty Conservation Institute

A. Jean E. Brown, Programme Leader, Preventive Conservation, School of Arts and Sciences, Northumbria University, United Kingdom

Kirk Cordell, Executive Director, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, U.S. National Park Service

Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa, Director, Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin

Kathleen Dardes, Senior Project Specialist, Education, Getty Conservation Institute

John Hinchman, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, University of Pennsylvania

Michele Marincola, Director, The Conservation Center, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University

Chela Metzger, Lecturer, School of Information, University of Texas at Austin

Debra Hess Norris, Director, Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, University of Delaware

Ellen Pearlstein, Course Coordinator, UCLA-Getty MA Program in Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation, University of California, Los Angeles

Elizabeth Peña, Director, Art Conservation Department, Buffalo State College, State University of New York

Eric Pourchot, Program Officer, Professional Development, American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

Chandra Reedy, Professor, Museum Studies Program, University of Delaware

Robyn Sloggett, Director, The Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, The Ian Potter Art Conservation Centre, University of Melbourne

Krysia Spirydowicz, Director, Art Conservation Programme, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada

Eryl Wentworth, Executive Director, American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works

Angela Weyer, Director, Hornemann Institute, Center for the Preservation of World Cultural Heritage, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hildesheim, Germany

George Wheeler, Director of Conservation, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Columbia University

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