Chat-Based Interaction in Live Online Courses: Examining Interaction in Live Chats for German-Language University Courses on Twitch

There are multiple ways to teach students online that in some cases differ from usual lectures that are being held in person. The content of these lectures can be taught in a similar way, but depending on the platform or media, teachers or lecturers are not able to interact with their students like they would in a regular lecture. Prerecorded videos or live-streams that only enable interactions by using chat messages offer a different experience compared to audio-based video conferences. Because of the similar nature of video conferences compared to regular lectures (everyone is 'in the same room', direct audio and visual feedback from students for the lecture is possible) it is to be expected that they offer the most similar experience to learning in a physical classroom. But we have to take into consideration that a digital classroom, albeit being similar, may profit from different forms of interaction. It is also possible that other forms of interaction have a higher impact on online courses or that it even changes how some students interact during a lecture.

We set our focus on interaction on the online platform Twitch. It enables instructors to stream their courses live. Students are then able to engage with the instructor or with each other by using the live chat. Twitch as a platform is different compared to traditional face-to-face lectures and videoconferencing platforms (such as Zoom) because students only have one feedback channel available for interaction: the chat. Interaction in the chat is therefore an important factor and we want to show how students interact when they only have one text-based feedback channel available to them during online courses.

Our research includes two different studies:

• A qualitative analysis of chat-logs from real lectures on Twitch
• A survey that asks students and instructors about their behavior and impression of interaction on Twitch

We want to investigate how students and instructors interact in online courses on Twitch. Our goal is to show the different possible forms and categories of interaction that appear when using the live chat on Twitch. We additionally want to show how students and instructors perceive Twitch as a platform. We also want to provide a basis for future research to improve or further investigate interaction in live chats.