Enhanced Web components and connectors description for authoring e-learning environments

This work 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 course management tools (WBCMT) from document-centered framework to services-centered one we propose a structured composite active document (SCAD) model as a hybrid model to assemble heterogeneous and active components. 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, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL).