The Unintended Consequences of Using Twitch as a University Professor

Ashley Brown, a University of Utah professor in Entertainment Arts and Engineering, examines the unintended consequences of running a Twitch stream while teaching. The research-in-progress extended abstract for DiGRA 2019 uses reflexive journaling, a method common in teacher training, to document Brown's experience streaming as a Twitch Affiliate for roughly three months after advertising the stream to students in late 2018. The stream, a variety channel illustrating user research methods in game development, was analyzed across seven sessions in January 2019, with journal entries reviewed through thematic analysis.

The study's central finding is that the most significant effects of streaming were not the planned pedagogical gains, such as exposing the professor to games students reference and sharpening students' critical analysis, but four unexpected outcomes. These were the development of personal celebrity among students, buy-in from professionals working in the games industry who joined as viewers, other streamers being inspired to start their own channels, and concern from non-streamers about harassment and the toxic culture associated with Twitch. The author also notes that the stream improved accessibility for students who cannot easily approach faculty on campus, such as those with off-campus work or care responsibilities.

The scope of the work is narrow and self-reported, drawing on a single instructor's reflections rather than a larger sample of streamers, students, or institutions. The author acknowledges the study is incomplete and that additional data points will be added before the conference. Findings are presented as preliminary, with the stated aim of helping educators weigh the benefits and risks of bringing live streaming into higher education.