摘要 |
A system of computers on a wide area network establishes connections between nodes on the basis of their multidimensional similarity at a particular point in time in a certain setting, such as a social learning network, and sends information of value to those nodes. Dimensions in the definition of similarity include a plurality of attributes in time and community space. Examples of such dimensions and attributes may include a position in a learning community's project cycle, titles of readings and projects, the genre or subject matter under consideration, age, grade, or level of the participants, and language. The network's nodes are represented as a tensor field and are searched efficiently and adaptively through a variety of multidimensional data structures and mechanisms. The system includes a master clock that can transform a participant's time coordinates on the network, such as a social learning network, into Universal Time, and the synchronizer coordinates the position of each participant. |