User engagement tracking
One of our Instructional Designers would really like to know more about how users are interacting with the content and materials in her courses. The current tools we have, like Insights and Content reports, are very high-level and do not get to the in-page level tracking. Has anyone tried doing much more active/granular user interaction reporting with a 3rd party tool or Google Analytics/Tag Manager?
Answers
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Yes, it is possible to achieve more granular user interaction tracking in Brightspace using tools like Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, though there are some important considerations and limitations outlined in D2L’s official documentation.
Brightspace supports integration with Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager at the organization level. This allows institutions to collect browsing data across Brightspace pages. To enable this, an administrator must enter a Google Analytics ID (and optionally a Tag Manager ID) in the Google Analytics Settings page, accessible via the Admin Tools menu. Once configured, Brightspace injects the appropriate tracking scripts into each page, and data is sent to the linked Google Analytics account for analysis.
However, it’s important to note that:
- All data collected is anonymous. Brightspace does not support user-level tracking through this integration.
- Interactions within iFrames are not tracked, which may limit visibility into embedded tools or content1.
- This setup requires the Manage Google Analytics permission at the organization level, which is typically reserved for administrators.
If your instructional designer is looking for in-page level tracking, such as clicks on specific buttons, scroll depth, or time spent on individual content items, this can be achieved by configuring custom events in Google Tag Manager. These events can be set up to trigger on specific user actions and send data to Google Analytics 4 for reporting. This approach requires some technical setup, including defining tags and triggers in Tag Manager and ensuring the appropriate scripts are injected into the Brightspace environment.
While this method can provide more detailed insights than Brightspace’s built-in tools like Insights and Content Reports, it does come with limitations around user identification and privacy. Additionally, any such implementation should be reviewed for compliance with institutional data governance and privacy policies.
If more detailed, user-specific analytics are required (e.g., tracking individual student engagement), you might also consider using third-party LTI tools that offer their own analytics dashboards, or exploring Brightspace Data Hub or Advanced Analytics if your institution has access to those features.
