I am not one to wish away time but, boy, I am sooo looking forward to January!!!
The reason I am looking forward to 2015 is that I have some study leave scheduled for the first part of the year. A sabbatical.
According to this dictionary, sabbatical is an “extended period of leave from one’s customary work, especially for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.”
Contrary to what is suggested by this definition, however, for me (and others in academia) the sabbatical will not be a period of rest. On the contrary, it will be a period to focus on tasks that require a prolonged intellectual effort. Professor Les Back’s recent series of podcasts entitled “Postcards from a sabbatical”, available here, provide a really interesting insight into the practical and psychological aspects of the academic sabbatical.
In my case, I was granted the leave so that I can conclude a number of writing projects that I have been working on. In addition, during this period, I will work on bid for a research grant, I will get training in quantitative data analysis, and I will rethink the role of technology in (my) teaching. It’s very far from a rest, wouldn’t you agree?
And this is all T-66 days away, but who is counting?!
If you could take some time away from your daily routine, what would you work on? What skills would you develop?
Ana Canhoto 
Oh, that sounds great, Ana. I hope you share about your adventures during that time. As you can guess, I’m very interested in learning what you find about the role of technology in (your) teaching.
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Thank you, Arjan. I surely will!
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