From digital art exhibitions to VR nature walks, throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve been more reliant on the digital world for business, culture and socialisation than ever. We’ve probably all signed up to an online yoga class, binged a series on a streaming platform, or enjoyed a 12-person birthday party via webcam without thinking too much about the level of skill involved in making it all happen.
Much of the tech we rely on was already in existence prior to the outbreak. But with social distancing making real-life interactions difficult, the digital trends we’ve seen over the past few years have gone into overdrive, according to Dr Marco Gillies, academic director of distance learning at Goldsmiths, University of London.
One such trend, for example, has been the rise of video. “It can be seen in everything from Netflix, to Skype and Zoom. Video has become ubiquitous,” he says.
Then there are video games. “These are continuing to grow and have become much more social in recent years,” Gillies says. “It’s the thing we’re doing instead of consuming TV. Before it was often a single-person activity, but now it’s often multiplayer.”
There have also been developments in virtual reality. “We’re seeing massive growth,” says Gillies. “It’s a new way of relating – you can step into another world and it’s another way of being with people. You can stand around and it feels like a social interaction.”
There have also been huge advances in the use of data behind the scenes. “The more we’re online the more data we’re generating and the more data we can store,” says Gillies. “That is accompanied by a rise of AI, otherwise known as machine learning algorithms, that are able to process that data, and to understand and learn from it.”
“In a sense we are lucky to have these trends, because these are the things we have needed to survive the pandemic,” Gillies adds. Data has enabled us to track Covid-19 cases and contacts, and to be able to simulate the virus to make predictions.
“You need the ability to understand [data] and to work with it,” says Gillies. “For example, epidemiologists are experts in both medicine and data.”
The advances aren’t specific to epidemiology, however. These digital trends can be seen across a variety of industries, says Gillies. Digital is used almost everywhere, he says, just look at the entertainment world: “Netflix is hugely data-driven, and uses data to recommend videos.”
New technology is also used in manufacturing. “Any car you drive has on some level been designed in VR,” says Gillies. “In the arts, it’s also increasingly important to have digital forms.”
With digital being so ubiquitous, it’s no wonder about 82% of all job postings in the UK call out for digital skills as a must-have. People in jobs requiring digital skills can enjoy a salary premium of approximately 29%, and some digital skills such as search engine optimisation can reduce the risk of your job being automated by 59%.
Enrolling in a distance learning course is a good way to build such skills. No matter what online course you study – whether it’s an MSc in epidemiology, an MSc in supply chain management and global logistics, or an undergraduate degree in data science and business analytics – you’re likely to improve your digital skills. And online learning is extremely popular – the 1.6 million students who have registered for massive open online courses (moocs) at UoL are testament to that.
“The introduction of moocs changed the way a lot of people thought about learning,” says Gillies, who was one of the founders of the BSc computer science and MSc data science programmes at University of London (UoL). “When people learn online, we can use the data they generate to help them with their studies; if a student is struggling, we can intervene and offer them help.”
Carefully designed distance learning courses, like those at UoL, also make innovative use of video, along with discussion and quizzes, to create interactive activity. UoL also has a number of courses that focus specifically on digital skills such as video, VR or data. For example, at undergraduate level, students can take a computer science course with a focus on data science, VR, games development, or on machine learning and AI.
Postgraduate students can opt for a master’s in data science, which gives students an in-depth understanding of emerging technologies, statistical analysis and computational techniques, with a focus on either AI or fintech. Or you could do a mooc in computer science programming, virtual reality, or information and security.
For those who want to specialise in digital, there are lots of courses available to give students the tools and knowledge to influence and create future digital trends.
