From April to June 2022, the online exchange program "Education and Research in the Digital Era" of College of Education at Zhejiang University was successfully held. Renowned scholars and experts from well-known universities at home and abroad delivered lectures, attracting a cumulative total of more than 500 participants. Following three wonderful previous lectures, four more lectures have been successfully carried out in May and June.

On May 15, Xiaoming ZHAI, Assistant Professor from University of Georgia, gave a lecture on “Validity of Machine Learning-based Next Generation Science Assessment”. First, he explained the ideas and concepts of machine learning and science assessment framework. Then the study of validity of machine learning-based next generation science assessment was further shared by comparing human scoring and computer scoring, in order to highlight the integration of artificial intelligence techniques and STEM education.

On May 22, Associate Professor Wenli CHEN from Nanyang Technological University, delivered a lecture on "From Cooperation to Collaboration: Designing Computers Supported Collaborative Knowledge Improvement in Classrooms". She started from the introduction of Singapore Educational Technology Plan (2020-2030), and explained the core content of the lecture - from cooperation to collaboration, such a transformation of classroom mode. Then, she conducted a discussion with a number of studies, such as rapid collaborative knowledge improvement (RCKI), and how these studies have been applied and influenced school and classroom practice.

On June 22, Professor Minjuan WANG from San Diego State University, was invited to hold an online lecture named "Edu-Metaverse: Model Construction and Research Direction Analysis". First of all, Prof. Wang took the evolution of learning as the starting point and defined the Edu-Metaverse. Prof. Wang later made a full explanation of the technical support of Edu-Metaverse, which is extended reality (XR). Four technologies of XR were involved – Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), 360° photos and videos in carefully selected videos and pictures. Finally, in the context of educational technology, Prof. Wang introduced the model construction and research direction of Edu-Metaverse. In the interactive session, the students had a full discussion with the professor.

On June 29, Timothy Teo, professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong, delivered a lecture named “Achieving Success in Academic Publishing: Some Best Practices”. Prof. Teo is chief editor of two international journals, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher (TAPER) and International Journal of Quantitative Research in Education (IJQRE), and a member of over 10 journal editorial boards. Based on existing research and work experience, his lecture mainly focused on what High Impact Journals are, why to publish in High Impact Journals, what High Impact Journals look for, implications for faculty and students and collaboration, etc.

Over the past several months, participants have experienced a fulfilling online period, while each lecture had received an extensive participation among teachers and students from different universities and attracted much attention from them, which showed learners’ enthusiasm and strong interest in academic communication. "Education and Research in the Digital Age" online exchange program has perfectly concluded!

 XU Weiqi, GAO Jiayan, LI Xinman & XIA Jingyan