Mastering Online Education: The Power of Content Analytics

The way we teach has changed forever. The shift to online learning, accelerated by the pandemic, has made education more flexible and accessible. Teachers can now share materials instantly, conduct virtual classes, and reach students anywhere. However, something important has been lost in this transition—control over student engagement.

In a physical classroom, you can see who is paying attention, who is struggling, and who is actively taking notes. In an online setting, that visibility disappears. You send out a PDF, a presentation, or a study guide, but do students actually open it? Do they read it carefully or just skim through? Are they engaging with the content or just clicking through it?

Sure, tests and quizzes help measure understanding, but wouldn’t it be better to have insights before the assessment? What if you could track how students interact with your materials and adjust your teaching accordingly?

The reality is that online teaching lacks feedback on student engagement—but that doesn’t mean teachers have to remain in the dark. There are smarter ways to share and track educational content, ensuring that students get the most out of their learning experience.

So, how can you take control and optimize your teaching methods? Let’s explore a step-by-step approach to tracking student engagement with online learning materials and making data-driven improvements.

Are Your Students Really Engaging with Your Learning Materials?

As a teacher, your goal isn’t just to deliver information—it’s to educate, inspire, and prepare your students for the future. You put thought and effort into your lessons, carefully selecting resources that will help students understand complex topics.

You send them a detailed PowerPoint, a well-structured PDF, or a link to an interactive lesson. You trust that they will engage with it, absorb the knowledge, and come to the next lesson prepared.

But how do you really know? The uncomfortable truth is: you don’t.

The Invisible Struggle of Online Teaching

In the classroom, you can see engagement. You notice who’s taking notes, who’s asking questions, and who seems lost. If someone isn’t following along, you can step in immediately.

But in an online setting, that direct connection is lost. You don’t see who is actively learning and who is just clicking through slides. You don’t know if students are struggling until it’s too late—when they fail a test, submit incomplete assignments, or suddenly admit they “never really got it.”

Think about it:

• Did they even open the materials?
• Did they skim through, or actually read and process the information?
• Where did they struggle the most?
• Did they miss an important instruction or skip over key details?

You work hard to make your lessons valuable. But if students aren’t truly engaging, then something is missing.

Your Mission Deserves Better

Teaching isn’t just about covering topics—it’s about making a difference in students’ learning. You don’t want to leave things to chance. You want to be sure that your materials are effective, that students are learning, and that you’re setting them up for success.

Many educators face this challenge, and there’s a solution. By tracking student engagement with your learning materials, you can finally see what’s working—and what’s not.

In the next section, we’ll walk through a step-by-step approach to taking control of your teaching materials and ensuring that no student is left behind.

A Smarter Way to Share Learning Materials Online

To ensure that students engage with educational materials, teachers must think beyond simply sending files. It’s essential to choose the right format, the best sharing method, and a system that allows tracking and analysis. In this tutorial, we’ll use PowerPoint to create the lesson content, convert it to PDF for accessibility, upload it to Doksly to generate a trackable link, and distribute it via Microsoft Teams, where students can easily access it. While other tools like Google Drive or SharePoint could be used, this approach offers structure, reliability, and the ability to monitor student engagement.

Step 1: Choosing the Best Way to Share Learning Materials

The first step in sharing learning materials effectively is selecting the right format. While PowerPoint files are great for creating structured lessons, they can cause issues when shared. The formatting might change depending on the device, students may struggle to open the file without the necessary software, and there’s a risk that they accidentally edit the content. Converting the presentation to a PDF solves these problems. A PDF maintains the original layout and can be opened on any device without additional software. That’s why it’s better to save your presentation as a PDF before sharing it.

How to Save a PowerPoint as a PDF:

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation.
2. Click File > Save As.
3. Choose a location on your computer.
4. Click the drop-down menu next to Save as type and select PDF.
5. Click Save – your PowerPoint is now a PDF, ready to be shared!

Once the material is in the right format, the next decision is how to share it. Attaching files directly in Teams or email may seem like the easiest option, but it has significant downsides. Large attachments can be difficult to send, files often get buried in long chat threads, and most importantly, there’s no way to track whether students open them. Using a link instead of a direct file upload is a more efficient solution. A shared link makes the content easily accessible, eliminates file size restrictions, and, when generated through a tool like Doksly, provides insights into student engagement. SharePoint and Google Drive are popular options for link sharing, but they lack analytics, meaning teachers remain in the dark about whether students are actually using the material.

Step 2: Uploading and Sharing with Students

Now that we have our PDF, it’s time to share it using Doksly, so we can track who opens it and how they engage with the content.

1. Go to Doksly.com and log into your account.
2. Click Upload Document and select the PDF you just created.
3. Generate a trackable link by naming the file appropriately (e.g., History Lesson Group 1).
4. Decide if students should be able to download the file or only view it online.
5. Click Create Link and copy the link.

With the trackable link ready, the next step is sharing it in a way that ensures students can find it easily. Microsoft Teams, as the central platform for class communication, is the ideal place to post the link. To keep materials organized, it’s best to avoid sending links in scattered messages that get lost over time. Instead, teachers can pin the message containing the link at the top of the class chat so students always see it. Another effective method is creating a dedicated "Resources" tab where all essential materials are stored in one place. For structured weekly learning, a summary post every Monday with all necessary materials ensures that students know exactly where to look. If the document is part of an assignment, including the link in the assignment description prevents confusion and keeps everything connected to the lesson plan.

Step 3: Monitoring Engagement – What Are Your Students Really Doing?

Now comes the exciting part—tracking what happens after you share your materials. No more guessing. No more assuming that just because you sent a document, students are using it. With the right tools, you can see exactly how your students engage with the content.

Imagine opening the analytics dashboard for the first time. You’re eager to see the results. The numbers appear on the screen, and suddenly, a clear picture of student behavior starts to emerge.

You notice that in Group 1, where you shared History Lesson Group 1 link, students barely made it past the third slide. Did they lose interest? Was the material too dense? Meanwhile, in Group 2, where you shared History Lesson Group 2, only three students opened the presentation at all. What happened? Was the message about the resource unclear?

Diving deeper, you see something interesting: most students spend the most time on Slide 4. Why? Is it because the content is particularly challenging? Should you revisit this topic in class? Then you check the homework link at the end of the presentation—not a single click. Are students skipping it? Or did they just not notice it?

Then another pattern emerges. Most students open the document on their phones. Maybe the PowerPoint format isn’t the best choice. Would a mobile-friendly version work better? And finally, you spot one last fascinating detail: the busiest time for engagement is after 10 PM. Does this mean students prefer to study late at night? Should deadlines be adjusted to accommodate their habits?

By simply observing these patterns, you begin to uncover hidden insights into how your students interact with learning materials. But collecting data is only the first step—now it’s time to figure out what to do with it.

Step 4: Making Data-Driven Adjustments

With real engagement data in hand, it’s time to analyze the results and make meaningful adjustments. The goal isn’t just to observe but to act on what you’ve learned.

Looking at the insights, you ask yourself:

• If students in Group 2 barely opened the document, how can I communicate its importance more effectively? Maybe a quick reminder in class or a follow-up message will help.
• If most students stop at Slide 4, should I spend extra time on this topic in the next lesson? Or perhaps simplify the slide itself?
• Since the majority access the document from their phones, is there a better way to format it? Maybe a shorter, more mobile-friendly version would work better.
• If the homework link isn’t being clicked, should I place it earlier in the document? Or explicitly tell students where to find it?

Case Study

Let’s take an example. Imagine a teacher shares a presentation on World War II historical events. The analytics reveal that most students stop on Slide 7, which covers a particularly complex battle. Instead of just moving forward, the teacher decides to prepare an extra summary, clarify key points in class, and even create a short quiz to reinforce understanding.

Or another case: a math teacher notices that students open the review materials the night before a big test, around 11 PM. This suggests last-minute cramming instead of steady learning. The teacher might respond by introducing weekly revision checkpoints or assigning smaller practice problems earlier to encourage spaced learning.

The key takeaway? Teaching doesn’t stop at sending materials. Understanding how students engage with content allows teachers to adjust and optimize their approach. Whether it’s refining materials, improving communication, or adapting to students’ study habits, small tweaks based on real insights can make a huge difference.

When data meets teaching, education becomes more responsive, more personalized, and more effective. Instead of wondering whether students are engaging, teachers can see it, analyze it, and act on it—bringing them one step closer to ensuring that every student truly learns.

Conclusion: Embracing Technology to Enhance Remote Learning

Teaching has always been a rewarding yet challenging profession, and the rise of remote learning has added new layers to those challenges. As teachers, we’ve always been deeply invested in helping our students succeed, but with online education, it's become harder to assess their engagement, track their progress, and fine-tune our teaching methods.

The traditional approach of simply sending materials and hoping for the best is no longer enough. We now live in an age where data and technology provide us with invaluable insights into how students are engaging with content. Monitoring these patterns—whether it’s noting which slides they linger on, the times they access materials, or what content they ignore—can help us make data-driven adjustments that significantly improve student outcomes.

The key takeaway? Don’t be afraid to experiment with new technologies. They may seem daunting at first, but with a little curiosity and practice, they can become powerful allies in your mission to support your students’ learning. By testing out new strategies, staying open to change, and continuously adapting, you can improve your teaching and ensure that your students are not just receiving material—but actively engaging and learning from it.

So, take the plunge! Embrace the tools that are available, gather the data, and most importantly, use it to fine-tune your teaching. With the right tools and a mindset of continuous improvement, you can make a lasting difference in your students' educational journey, no matter where or how they’re learning.