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The main purpose of this study is to compare students' behaviors in three types of learning activities (drills, games, and self-tests) in order to explore students' motivation to learn in each one of them. For that purpose, the actions of 7,434 third to sixth grade students, who learned in two learning units, were documented in log files and analyzed. The comparison between their behaviors was based on three variables: (a) the number of students who performed each activity, (b) the percentage of students who completed each activity until they succeeded, and (c) the average response time to questions in each activity. The study was carried out in two stages. Firstly, the students' behavior was examined in one unit and the results were recorded. Thereafter, the behavior was examined in another unit with different activities, in order to validate the results. Results show significant differences in students' behavior with respect to activities in both units. This implies that the drills and the self-test served as motivating tools for learning to a greater extent than the games. We conclude that a greater emphasis should be given to identify under which conditions online activities are more motivating for students' learning processes.

The research objectives of this study are: (a) to compare learning behaviors in an online science learning environment -in school vs. at home; and (b) to explore the existence of some behavioral differences, in school and at home, in terms of age and gender. The actions of 1,179 elementary school students in an online science learning environment were documented in a log file and statistically analyzed. Results suggest that students who learn at home tend to spend more time learning; they learn at a slower pace and score higher on a test than students who learn in school. However, no significant differences were found between home and school in terms of the amount of completed activities, the rate of simulation use, and the sequence of learning. Comparison between age groups indicates that younger students tend to learn for more time, at a slower pace, and complete fewer activities than older students. Comparison between genders, on the other hand, reflects similar learning behaviors for boys and girls. The results also suggest that neither age nor gender affect the differences found between school and home behaviors. Our conclusions indicate that extending teaching time to the home by means of online learning environments is possible and worthwhile, regardless of age or gender. Nevertheless, it should be noticed that in some cases more learning time is necessary for young students in online assignments.