Xinran Zhu

Xinran Zhu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Education, specializing in Learning Design & Leadership and Instructional Design, Technology, & Organization. Her research intersects learning sciences, learning analytics, and AI in education, focusing on designing technology-supported learning environments for authentic classroom settings.

• Ph.D. in Learning Sciences and Technologies, University of Pennsylvania (2024)
• M.A. in Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut
• Graduate studies in learning technologies, University of Minnesota

Her research spans three main areas: (1) design and implementation of educational technologies, particularly social annotation tools for knowledge building; (2) AI integration in education to augment collaborative learning; and (3) computational discourse analysis using network analysis and NLP to generate actionable insights. Recent projects include SynthesisAI, a GenAI-powered chatbot for knowledge synthesis, and the Synthesis Lab, a precursor tool for integrating peer ideas in collaborative writing.

Dr. Zhu teaches courses on ubiquitous learning, advanced learning technologies, and eLearning system design. She employs co-design methodologies to develop and implement technologies in both lab and real-world classroom settings, emphasizing student agency and ethical AI partnerships.