Provision of better VLE learner support with a Question Answering System

The focus of this research is based on the provision of user support to students using electronic means of communication to aid their learning. Digital age brought anytime anywhere access of learning resources to students. Most academic institutions and also companies use Virtual Learning Environments to provide their learners with learning material. All learners using the VLE have access to the same material and help despite their existing knowledge and interests. This work uses the information in the learning materials of Virtual Learning Environments to answer questions and provide student help by a Question Answering System. The aim of this investigation is to research if a satisfactory combination of Question Answering, Information Retrieval and Automatic Summarisation techniques within a VLE will help/support the student better than existing systems (full text search engines)