Participant grouping for enhanced interactive experience
AssigneePresident and Fellows of Harvard College
InventorsGary King, Eric Mazur, Brian Lukoff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Representative embodiments of a method for grouping participants in an activity include the steps of: (i) defining a grouping policy; (ii) storing, in a database, participant records that include a participant identifier, a characteristic associated with the participant, and/or an identifier for a participant's handheld device; (iii) defining groupings based on the policy and characteristics of the participants relating to the policy and to the activity; and (iv) communicating the groupings to the handheld devices to establish the groups.
Claims20
A method of grouping participants in an activity, the participants each having a handheld device, the method comprising:
- determining a value associated with the one or more participant characteristics associated with the participants, the value of the one or more participant characteristics determined from past performance between the participants and one or more questions to identify the participants' knowledge of relevant subject matter;
- receiving one or more statistical models defining a relationship between the value of the one or more participant characteristics and conversational productivity;
- determining a group of participants, wherein the determined group will generate a productive conversation based in part on the one or more statistical models;
- and
- transmitting a communication to the handheld device of at least one of the participants in the determined group, wherein the communication includes an identification of another participant in the determined group.
A system for grouping participants in an activity, the participants each having a handheld device, the system comprising:
- a memory for storing a participant database of the participants, wherein the participant database includes one or more participant characteristics and a value associated with the one or more participant characteristics;
- and
- a processor in operative communication with the memory, the processor being configured to:
- determine the value associated with the one or more participant characteristics associated with the participants, the value of the one or more participant characteristics determined from past performance between the participants and one or more questions to identify the participants' knowledge of relevant subject matter;
- receive one or more statistical models defining a relationship between the value of the one or more participant characteristics and conversational productivity;
- determine a group of participants, wherein the determined group will generate a productive conversation based in part on the one or more statistical models;
- and
- transmit a communication to the handheld device of at least one of the participants in the determined group, wherein the communication includes an identification of another participant in the determined group.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying information indicative of instructions for causing one or more machines to perform the method comprising:
- determining a value associated with the one or more participant characteristics associated with the participants, the value of the one or more participant characteristics determined from past performance between the participants and one or more questions to identify the participants' knowledge of relevant subject matter;
- receiving one or more statistical models defining a relationship between the value of the one or more participant characteristics and conversational productivity;
- determining a group of participants, wherein the determined group will generate a productive conversation based in part on the one or more statistical models;
- and
- transmitting a communication to the handheld device of at least one of the participants in the determined group, wherein the communication includes an identification of another participant in the determined group.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.