The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a new lens to look at data analytics. We see graphics everywhere and it raises some important questions. Not just about the value of data as we understand it, but also about opening, sharing and using data.
“The current situation has highlighted some of the challenges we face with data traditionally. Not just with the decisions we make with it, but also with respect to the need for experts in the field to understand data” said Preeti Raman, Data Analytics Instructor at York University School of Continuing Studies.
We’re in a shift where we are now starting to analyze everything from supply chain construction to speech analytics, to online education, to what is a pandemic-related behaviour. All of this brings about a lot of data for analysis.
How can Data Analytics bring clarity during COVID-19?
The near real-time COVID-19 trackers that we see everywhere, on social media, and in the news, pull data from sources around the world. They help healthcare workers, policy makers, and scientists make informed decisions.
“Already technological tools are helping authorities fine-tune their public directives, and data derived from individual smartphones may soon play an important role in mapping webs of potential new infections and alerting people at particularly high risk of developing covid-19 that they need to be tested immediately.” (Washington Post April 17, 2020 by Craig Timberg , Elizabeth Dwoskin, Drew Harwell and Tony Romm).
With trackers and technical tools collecting data, it can be hard for people to make sense of everything because we are being fed a lot of information. Data Analytics is something that brings clarity and we’re going to see an increasing need for it through the pandemic and beyond.
Preeti Raman
Preeti is an Instructor in the School of Continuing Studies’ Big Data Analytics Program. An accomplished professional with over 20 years of global technology consulting and teaching experience, gained from working in North America, Germany, Hong Kong and India, Preeti is a passionate advocate for the importance of Critical Thinking, Math and Technology education in driving innovation. In her role as Managing Director, Preeti provides leadership to promote Addity’s vision for learning enrichment by planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating various aspects of the curriculum and the program as a whole.
Learn more about our Big Data Analytics Program.
