Lab2go — A repository to locate educational online laboratories

Abstract

This paper discusses the creation of a common framework to describe online laboratories according to the semantic web technology. The so called Web 3.0 technology is actually growing daily and is proposed to be one of the leading Web technologies within the next years. Improved search mechanisms and facet based browsing are only some key features which enhance the data handling within the repository. Online laboratories are interactive experiments which are available over the Internet and can be divided into two main groups, software simulations and laboratories made up of real hardware equipment. Technology-enhanced learning is becoming a new important trend in higher education worldwide. In particular, engineering education is becoming an exciting emerging field of research because it involves a multitude of disciplines which aim to resolve the pedagogical problems that arise with the advancement of technology. With the help of the semantic web technology a significant step forward can be made in terms of a general description model for online laboratories and the location of laboratories with requested properties.