Authoring Services-centered Web-based Learning Environment: a Hybrid Model for Multimedia Components and Web Services Composition

This paper presents an approach that allows educators without programming skills to build and deploy Web-based experimentation environments. Conscious of the need to move existing Web Based Courses Management Tools (WBCMT) from a document-centered framework to services-centered one we have proposed a Structured Composite Active Document (SCAD) model as a hybrid model to assemble heterogeneous multimedia components and Web Services. Based on this SCAD model, educators can use the authoring tool to integrate and manage in a visual way on-line educational resources dedicated to sustain hands-on practice in engineering education. This approach is integrated in the development of the second version of the eMersion environment, whose first version is currently used at the School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).