Emersion: a New Paradigm for Web-based Training in Engineering Education

1 Denis Gillet, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, [email protected]. 2 Georgios Fakas, ERCIM Fellow, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, [email protected] Abstract  The eMersion project aims at promoting a pedagogical trial-and-error paradigm by enhancing the opportunities for engineering trainees to carry out extensive experimentation in their education curriculum. The proposed approach relies on the benefits to be gained from alternative means of experimentation that allow the students to reinforce their understanding of physical phenomena. In addition, dedicated solutions are provided to enable a flexible access to hands-on experimentation resources using the Internet. Specific pedagogical scenarios developed for the teaching of automatic control, fluid mechanics, and biomechanics are presented. New learning-technologies resources enabling the eMersion paradigm are introduced, i.e., facilities to experiment through Web-based simulations or remote manipulation of laboratory setups. Key components introduced to sustain the experimentation include XML-based documents describing the experimental setups, the experimental protocols to be followed, cockpitlike GUIs for running the experiments in a highly interactive manner, and also an electronic journal shared by a team of students that collaborate to fulfill the hands-on sessions requirements.