Handwritten or Typewritten: Does It Really Matter? Instructor Feedback and Student Perceptions of Connectedness

Online environments create a paradox. While they allow students to be connected with those they may not otherwise, these same environments can be isolating and disconnecting. Feelings of isolation and disconnection, often associated with transactional distance, can be challenging for students, and instructors seek ways to shrink the physical and psychological distance students feel. Because interactions with instructors via feedback and writing formats have been connected to feelings of connection, this study investigated whether the type of instructor feedback (handwritten versus typed) impacted students' feelings of connectedness with the instructor. Results demonstrated that students valued instructor feedback, but the format was not as significant as the feedback itself, the quality of the feedback, and the mere act of giving feedback. Reinforcing this point, participants shared that feedback should be meaningful, specific, and personalized; if these traits were met, format was irrelevant. Participants related feedback to perceptions of instructors' effort and care but suggested that there was a balance between the amount and value of feedback. While they did not prefer one type of feedback over the other, participants did find handwritten feedback to be more connecting. Instructors can apply these ideas to leverage instructor feedback to reduce transactional distance.