Data
Collecting data around student learning has become quite easy with the use of online learning systems. What you can collect depends on the online learning system used at your institution and the features that have been enabled, but even basic information about which students have visited which pages or sections of your online course can be very useful for discovering not only which students are engaged but also whether parts of the course are not as effective as they might be.
Data collection and analysis is not at base a punitive tool. It is counter-productive to consider the purpose to be about recording students' performance and shortcomings. Data analysis is an important tool for improving the way we conceive of and design courses to engage students and enable learning.
This video from Jisc outlines some of the benefits of data:
More from Jisc on collecting and using student data:
[ Link to institutional information or guidance, if available ]