Patricia Easteal took a sabbatical in England last year—without ever stepping foot outside her front door in Australia.
The University of Canberra law professor took the digital trip as part of a research project exploring a different take on the hoary academic tradition. She relied on Skype and YouTube to communicate with Durham University students and faculty members.
Could the sabbatical of the future be virtual?
“We did not undertake this project with the intention of advocating it as a replacement,” Dr. Easteal said. “We were simply testing it as an alternative, especially for groups that have difficulty traveling and/or being absent from home for a long time.”
Her one regret? Not having the chance to listen to the grand organ music at the nearby Durham Cathedral, a place BBC reported to be the country’s “most beloved building.”
Though she isn’t aware of other universities trying something similar, she hopes the idea will catch on.
“Hopefully, this will help people think outside of the proverbial box,” she said. “They can, indeed, develop international collaborations, networking, and be a visible part of another university community without leaving home.”
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7 Responses to The Virtual Sabbatical
marcyrw - September 2, 2010 at 8:25 am
Agreed. We Skype in guest lecturers to our classrooms from all over the world (considering time zone limitations). We just sit the laptop on the desk, project the image onto the screen, and they can see us and we can see them. Wonderful! And, I would love to do that kind of sabbatical – sign me up!
kchand2 - September 2, 2010 at 11:19 am
Does anyone know of Universities in the US doing this? As an example, a Professor from another state providing instruction for a university without actually being there?
mhick255 - September 2, 2010 at 12:18 pm
kchand2,I believe that Bethel University in Minnesota has offered courses taught by Skype. In Canada, one of my former professors taught a course in British Columbia from her home in Nova Scotia via Skype.
mhcobb - September 2, 2010 at 1:22 pm
kchand2,At my university professors use a combination of Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, private Facebook groups, and more. The possibilities are quite endless. We have both faculty and students who are teaching and learning remotely from our main campus.
brandall89 - September 2, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Several universities are involved in the GPIDEA program http://www.gpidea.org/ We collaborate to offer fully online degree programs. I taught a course in the Youth Development masters program through North Dakota State University this summer. I had students living all over the United States, as well as other places (e.g., China). This is a wonderful program that enables institutions to use their resources in the most effective way possible, and to reach students anywhere.
wayne_detzler - September 2, 2010 at 2:10 pm
We even SKYPEd a doctoral student in China,as he presented his paper to our seminar in the States. Additionally, I have had several defenses of dissertation via SKYPE. One time I was in Northern China, my colleague was in the U.S.,and our candidate in Singapore. Another time it was a candidate in an internet cafe in Nigeria. SKYPE is a tremendous asset modern education.
jbechtold - September 3, 2010 at 9:10 am
For isolated cases this works…virtual sabbaticals and doctoral defenses. This can work because most everyone uses the traditional means for these activities. Could everyone do this… I don’t think so! Who decides? Thinking outside the “digital” box only creates a bigger box! If everyone started doing it, we’d have Pandora’s box in no time (eg. look at the mounting problems with virtual schools of higher ed). There’s only a few ways to make digital communication work correctly for the masses, whereas there is a googleplex of ways it can go awry.