The reality of effective teaching in the online classroom involves being emotionally and cognitively present without the benefit of a physical presence. To be present in an online learning environment involves putting aside the false notion that an instructor can effectively hide behind a computer interface or that, at the very least, one is invisible. For current undergraduates of traditional or near-traditional college age (18-30), emojis are routinely included in their online communications and constitute 38% of users who send several messages with emojis on any given day (Emoji Research Team, 2016). This study aims to determine the impact of using emojis in online discussions on student's perception of the instructor's human presence.