With the advent of Distance learning , many new problems with communication have arose between the student and the teacher. Before the relationship between the teacher and the students was a more simple one. Students went to class and could ask questions during or after the class or even during the office hours of the teacher, But in todays fast paced world many students take web based and teletechnet classes where the student may never even see the teacher and live several states away making communication limited to Email. Therein lies the problem, teachers must answer the same questions over and over since the other students have no way to see what the other students our having trouble with.

The VTA or Virtual Teaching Assistant is a software application that will aid teachers and students. It is an automated web-based system that allows the user to get the information needed without having to contact the professor in person or via e-mail. It also can save reponses from the teacher into a database and alow it to be searched by the rest of the class in order to cut down on the workload of the teacher.