Gunderson and Holmes report that digital technology advances are rapidly altering the landscape of geoscience teaching and practice. Although geoscience has readily embraced new digital technologies in the past, the simultaneous emergence of innovations like open-online courses and machine learning tool-kits has greatly steepened the learning curve for geoscientists of all experience levels. Here, we discuss how these technologies are affecting the jobs of geoscience teachers and practitioners by highlighting a few technology-related trends in these areas. We also note the potential challenges of this new technological environment. A holistic view of digital technology trends can help geoscientists position themselves for success in a future where technological advancements will presumably continue to occur at an even more rapid pace.
The geoscientists that are most likely to thrive in this new technological environment are those willing to be agile and remain in a state of continuous learning. Maintaining static methods of teaching and practice will be insufficient. Paradoxically, despite the need for digital comprehension and capability, the most important functional knowledge and skills that any geoscientist should possess will likely remain the same. These include a deep understanding of fundamental Earth processes, an ability to creatively integrate data from various sources, the clarity to communicate difficult concepts, and a passion for their work. Technological dexterity will certainly bring additional value to our field, but we believe it will be the combination of deep fundamental geoscience knowledge and digital fluency that will be the foundation for the next era of geoscience innovation and discovery.
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