Distributed collaborative knowledge generation system wherein students perform queries using a dynamic knowledge database and retrieved subsets of data are shared with multiple users on the web

1. A distributed collaborative knowledge generation computer system, comprising:

a processor;

a storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor, the program logic comprising:

database logic executed by the processor for storing a dynamic knowledge database related to the computer system;

search services logic executed by the processor for searching for a subset of content information in response to a query by a student user, the query relating to a subject of interest to the student user and the subset of the content information relating to the subject of interest;

web services logic executed by the processor for retrieving and gathering the subset of the content information from the web in response to the query by the student user;

presentation services logic executed by the processor for sharing the subset of the content information with multiple users accessing the distributed collaborative knowledge generation system via the web; and

data services logic executed by the processor for improving the dynamic knowledge database by managing the subset of the content information by providing interfaces between the one or more databases, the search services module, the web services module, and the presentation services module.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more databases comprise at least one of:

a user-generated content database storing content information provided by users; and

a thumbnails database storing thumbnail images of snapshots of web pages.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more databases further comprise at least one of:

a standards database storing information related to educational standards; and

a schools database storing information provided by one or more schools.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a thumbnail caching module obtaining thumbnail images of web pages from a thumbnail service.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a standards feeder module obtaining educational standards from an academic standards source.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a schools feeder module obtaining school information from a schools data source.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the search services module comprises at least one of:

a vertical search engine performing searches against the content information within the system; and

a publisher search module perform searches against a user-specified website.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the presentation services module comprises at least one of calendar view, map view, grid view, and list view for presenting the content information.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the web services comprises a data collection module annotating the content information with metadata.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data service module comprises:

a tagging platform tagging the content information from one or more input sources;

a user identity module identifying student users of the system; and

a user profile module managing a student user database of the system.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the data service module further comprises:

an advertising module sharing revenues between the one or more input sources.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the tagging platform comprises:

a sponsorship module tagging the content information with an attribution of a sponsor.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the tagging platform further comprises:

a geographical module tagging student users according to their corresponding geographical locations.

14. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a feedback module gathering student user-generated feedbacks about the system.