Help-seeking is an essential self-regulatory and metacognitive skill. In the online learning environment, much of the learning is self-directed and there are generally less opportunities to receive help in real time. The uses of email and discussion boards are the most common method of seeking help in these environments. The current study explored students’ perceptions of the use of live chat technology for online academic help-seeking within higher education, with a focus on comparing online and blended learners’ perspectives. Participants were 246 students who were studying psychology online (n = 91) or in blended learning (n = 155) environments. The live chat technology was well received by both groups, especially for its ability to provide instant, real-time, and convenient help. Live chat was particularly well received by online learners, who were more satisfied, felt more cared about by the teaching team, and would be more likely to recommend it to others than blended learners. Further, online learners reported that live chat gave them better access to staff, and felt that this feature was a good approximation for more traditional face-to-face conversations. As an online, synchronous, private help-seeking tool between student and teacher, these findings provide a strong endorsement for the use of live chat in higher education, particularly for online learners.

寻求帮助是一项必不可少的自我调节和元认知技能。在在线学习环境中，大部分学习都是自主进行的，通常获得实时帮助的机会较少。使用电子邮件和讨论板是在这些环境中寻求帮助的最常见方法。目前的研究探讨了学生对在高等教育中使用实时聊天技术进行在线学术求助的看法，重点是比较在线学习者和混合学习者的观点。参与者是 246 名在线学习心理学 ( n  = 91) 或混合学习 ( n = 155) 环境。实时聊天技术受到两个群体的欢迎，尤其是它能够提供即时、实时和方便的帮助。在线学习者尤其喜欢在线聊天，他们更满意，更受教学团队的关心，比混合学习者更愿意推荐给其他人。此外，在线学习者报告说，实时聊天让他们可以更好地接触员工，并认为此功能是更传统的面对面对话的良好近似。作为学生和教师之间的在线、同步、私人求助工具，这些发现为在高等教育中使用实时聊天提供了强有力的支持，特别是对于在线学习者。