On May 16, Digital Education Fronts was unveiled at the 2025 World Digital Education Conference held in Wuhan. This landmark document was completed by the journal Frontiers of Digital Education in conjunction with relevant data enterprises, higher education institutions, and research organizations.

At the release ceremony, Tan Fangzheng, Editor-in-Chief of Higher Education Press and Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers of Digital Education, delivered remarks outlining the background, methodology, and findings of the research. Zhang Pingwen, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of Wuhan University, and Chief Expert of the project team, along with data experts and scholars from the United States and Hong Kong (China) shared their insights via videos, underscoring the significance of the project.

The project team analyzed nearly 60,000 academic papers on digital education published from 2019 to 2024, employed scientometric analysis combined with interdisciplinary expert insights, identified the top 10 critical fronts in digital education, and complied with the interpretation report. The top 10 critical fronts include:

• Generative AI Accelerating Interdisciplinary Integration

• Metaverse Technologies Catalyzing Smart Learning Paradigms

• Digital Education Transforming Cognition of Learning Behaviors

• AI Empowering Personalized Learning: The Future Is Now

• Digital Literacy Supporting Teachers’ Professional Development

• Human–AI Collaboration Reshaping Digital Education Ecosystem

• Vocational Education Aligning with Smart Technology-Driven Innovation Demands

• Global Co-Governance Redefining Ethical Boundaries in Digital Education

• Digital Education Bridging Regional Gaps in the Balanced Development

•Data Driving Intelligent Decision-Making Across the Entire Teaching Process

This interpretation report combines empirical case studies and trend projection, with an in-depth analysis of technological iteration, policy coordination, and ethical challenges. It is a periodic summary of global digital education dynamics, integrating prospective insights on applications of emerging technology in education. The report will be published in Frontiers of Digital Education.