Introduction   * Online education: a crucial alternative that improves accessibility (Jones, 2015; Reese, 2015).   * Unique challenges require unique solutions (Jones, 2015); research needed (McPherson & Bacow, 2015).   * Virtual instructors: a solution with multiple benefits. These days, online education is a very important option. It is a valuable and fairly effective alternative that dramatically increases the accessibility of education (Jones, 2015; Reese, 2015). It also has rather unique challenges and problems that may be less acute in traditional education. Still, there are solutions to such problems, and this presentation will cover one such solution, which is a virtual instructor. A virtual instructor can improve online education experiences, and this presentation will demonstrate this fact. Virtual Instructor: A Definition   * An online course instructor.   * Provides instruction, feedback, and clarifications (Kim & Thayne, 2015).   * Uses video conferencing/calls at least once a week for more immediate interaction. First, it is necessary to define the terms that we will be using. Online education is self-explanatory; it refers to a form of education that is delivered with the help of communication technologies. The term “virtual instructor” can be defined in different ways, but here, it is the instructor who is actively involved in synchronous and asynchronous communication with the students of an online program. The main function of instructors is to instruct, but they also offer feedback, clarifications, and support. An important aspect of virtual instruction that is considered in this presentation is video conferencing. Weekly technology-assisted video conferences or calls are going to be one of the primary tools of a virtual instructor in resolving a major issue with online education, which is reduced interaction. Online Classes: A Problem Statement   * Social learning (SL): learner-learner and learner-instructor interaction (Kyei-Blankson, Ntuli, & Donnelly, 2016).   * SL can have an impact on attitudes and performance (Kim & Thayne, 2015; Reese, 2015).   * Online learning reduces interaction (Huang, 2018; Jones, 2015; Reese, 2015). There is not much research about virtual instructors, but the sources that do exist discuss the problem of social learning (SL) in online environments. SL is a concept that can be traced back to the works of major education scholars like Vygotsky (Kyei-Blankson et al., 2016). Its basic premise is that as social beings, humans learn better through interaction (Reese, 2015). Research does suggest that interactions and relationships have an impact on learners’ motivations and attitudes toward learning, which, in turn, have been linked to performance (Kim & Thayne, 2015; Reese, 2015). As a result, a major concern for online learning is that online interaction is not fully equivalent to face-to-face interaction, which may result in reduced SL for online learners (Huang, 2018; Jones, 2015; Reese, 2015). For example, a recent study by Huang (2018) showed that the role of instructors in online courses was significantly reduced, especially when affective, emotional roles were considered. From this perspective, online programs can result in reduced support and assistance, which can prevent learner-instructor relationships f