by Jarek Janio, Ph.D.
In an era of AI tools, auto-graded quizzes, and self-paced asynchronous content, it’s easy to assume that a well-designed course can teach itself. But what Ruth Lane, Program Director of Mathematics at South University, made abundantly clear in her Friday SLO Talk is that students don’t learn from design they learn from interaction.
Not every student logs into a math class ready to engage. Many log in afraid, overwhelmed, or assuming that they are going to fail. And in a five-week online course with no face-to-face time, these feelings can easily harden into silence.
That’s why Lane’s message that human presence is not a luxury, but a prerequisite for learning is so important.
The Real Role of Presence in Online Learning
Why is human presence essential? Because learning, when properly defined, is not an internal state. It is a behavior. And students cannot demonstrate behavior when they are disengaged, discouraged, or invisible.
When Ruth Lane holds live sessions, posts welcome videos with pictures of her dogs, or sends personal text messages to students using Google Voice, she is not trying to boost morale. She is creating the conditions for action. That action asking a question, posting a revision, responding to feedback is the only way students can show what they’ve learned.
In other words, presence is a catalyst for performance.
And performance is what educators assess when they talk about student learning outcomes.
Human Connection as an Instructional Strategy
Lane emphasized the importance of building trust early. That means:
- Addressing math anxiety head-on
- Personalizing greetings and feedback
- Being visible and responsive, especially in the first week
- Reframing mistakes as part of the learning process
What many would see as student success strategies are, in Lane’s practice, clearly pedagogical strategies for learning. By making students feel seen, she helps them act. By making herself available, she helps them respond. And once students begin to act whether by posting a question, revising their work, or attending a live session those actions become observable data that instructors can use to assess learning.
That’s not just supportive teaching. It’s skill-based, SLO-aligned instruction.
Why It Matters for Learning
In the framework many of us use where learning must be demonstrated through observable behavior action is everything. Learning outcomes aren’t about what students believe, feel, or understand in a vague sense. They are about what students can do.
But students will not do anything unless they feel safe, motivated, and included.
That’s why the tone of instructor communication especially in asynchronous math classes is so important. Lane shared examples of how cold, abrupt replies (“You missed question two. Please revise.”) can discourage already-anxious students from ever posting again. On the other hand, warm and specific feedback (“Thanks for submitting! You nailed question one. Let’s walk through question two together…”) opens the door to continued interaction.
Each interaction is a small opportunity for students to:
- Practice a skill
- Clarify a misconception
- Revise an error
- Ask a question
These are not engagement metrics they are learning behaviors. They are the foundation of any outcome-based assessment model.
What Educators Can Do: Practical Applications
Ruth Lane shared dozens of techniques that promote connection in asynchronous online math classes but here are two that any instructor, in any discipline, can implement right away:
1. Welcome Messages that Prompt Action
A warm welcome message is not just a nice gesture it can be the start of observable learning.
Instead of simply saying “Welcome to class,” Lane uses messages that include:
- A brief video showing students how to navigate the course
- Personal touches (e.g., her dogs, hobbies, or anecdotes)
- A clear call to action: “Post your introduction by Wednesday,” or “Check out the Week One practice problems”
The goal is not just to make students feel good. It’s to make them do something. And that doing is what we assess.
2. Layered Communication Channels
Lane also uses multiple communication modalities: Brightspace messages, Google Voice texts, LMS announcements, and recorded live sessions via Kaltura. She does this not for convenience, but to meet students where they are most likely to respond.
By tracking which methods result in student action such as revisions, follow-up questions, or participation Lane can adjust her communication strategy not for clarity, but for behavioral outcomes.
That’s the mark of a learning-centered approach.
Presence and Pedagogy: A Redefinition
Too often, “humanizing the online classroom” is treated as a matter of tone or aesthetics. But Ruth Lane’s practice makes a stronger claim: presence is pedagogy. It’s not what students remember. It’s what enables them to participate, reflect, revise, and engage in the behaviors we associate with learning.
If we agree that learning outcomes must be observable, then student silence is not just unfortunate it’s a failure of design. A class where students don’t interact is not just disengaging it’s unmeasurable.
By creating an environment where students are more likely to act, Lane ensures that she can do more than just assign grades she can document learning.
What It Really Means to Be “The Only Positive Person”
One of the most memorable lines from Ruth Lane’s talk was this:
“You may be the only positive person in their lives.”
This wasn’t sentimentality. It was insight. When students are treated with dignity and warmth especially when they’ve never experienced that in education before they begin to respond. They start to try. And once they try, we can observe. Once we observe, we can assess. And once we assess, we can support the next skill.
Encouragement is not a soft skill for instructors. It is a tool for skill development in students.
We are not merely showing kindness. We are designing for visibility.
And visibility, in the context of learning outcomes, is everything.
