How to create document lessons from PDF and Word

A lesson doesn’t need a video. Show a PDF inline as the lesson itself, turn a Word doc into editable blocks, or let AI draft the lesson from your document.

By Knola4 min read

Plenty of course material already exists as documents: workbooks, slides exported to PDF, chapters written in Word. Knola treats them as first-class lesson content: the lesson can BE the document, no video required.

Add a PDF as the lesson itself

On an empty lesson choose Upload a file ("Video, PDF or Word"), then drop the file on the box, or click Drop a file, or choose one to pick it. On a lesson that already has content, open the Read section, put the cursor on an empty line, type / and choose PDF document. Knola uploads it and reads its text: "Adding your document: uploading and reading the text…".

A PDF dropped on an empty lesson that looks like a slide deck becomes the lesson's slides instead, one slide per page. To choose slides on purpose, use Upload a PDF in the Slides section. See How to show your slides to students.

The PDF appears as a block inside the lesson body and shows right there in the lesson for enrolled students. They read it in place, no download required. Only students enrolled in the course can open it.

An empty lesson with Upload a file selected among the three ways in, and the box to drop a file underneath — On an empty lesson, Upload a file takes PDFs and Word documents as well as video.

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Import a Word doc as editable content

A .docx works differently. Instead of embedding the file, Knola converts it. Upload it on an empty lesson the same way, or type / in the Read section and choose Import Word doc: the document’s headings, lists and formatting become real blocks in the written lesson, confirmed by "Document imported. It’s editable lesson content now."

Use PDF when the layout matters (a designed workbook); use Word import when the words matter. Imported content is fully editable, on-brand, and readable by the AI tutor like anything else you write.

Let AI draft the lesson from a PDF

When an attached PDF has selectable text and the lesson has no video, a banner appears above the editor: Draft this lesson from your document: "AI turns the attached PDF into structured, editable notes." Click Draft lesson and Knola writes the summary, topics and a structured body from the document’s own text, faithful to its terminology. If the body already has content, it asks before replacing it.

Scanned PDFs with no selectable text can still be shown inline, but can’t be drafted from. The upload notification tells you which case you’re in.

Know where the file lives

A lesson-body PDF is stored with your lesson files and counts against your plan’s storage. You’ll see it in the storage meter at the top of the lesson’s Resources, under Extras (see Lesson resources), and in Settings → Files & storage (see How to check your storage). It stays out of the downloadable-resources list, though: inline lesson content and downloadable attachments are separate things. To offer a PDF as a download instead, add it under Resources. See Lesson resources.

Can a Knola lesson be just a PDF, with no video?

Yes. Upload the PDF on the lesson and it appears right in the lesson as the content itself for enrolled students. You can add text around it, attach a quiz, and even have AI draft written notes from it.

What happens to formatting when I import a Word doc?

Headings, lists, bold and links convert into native editor blocks, so the result matches your school’s styling and stays editable. Complex layout elements don’t survive the trip. For those, upload the file as a PDF instead.

Why can’t AI draft from my PDF?

The PDF has no selectable text, usually a scan. Knola tells you at upload: "No selectable text found, so AI drafting isn’t available for this one." The document still displays inline; only drafting needs readable text.

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