We live in a world where the use of data and technology has, for many of us, become part of our everyday life. The buzzword of the data revolution is ‘insight’. Once people have insight into their behaviour, they can work more efficiently and more effectively. Using technology and analysing data to detect patterns and improve processes has been a staple in business and commerce for decades and has over time also become more and more common in the educational domain. Insight only, however, is not enough. In an era of increased machine learning and artificial intelligence, we need to make sure to not only gain insights into the learning processes but to also look into interventions that can support these processes. There is a need for a shift from mainly data-driven approaches where large amounts of data are first collected and then analysed, to more actionable, contextualised and pedagogically-driven approaches.

Creating this balance between technology- and education-driven approaches offers the opportunity to not only enhance the users’ learning experiences but to also help in the design and implementation of technologies required to achieve these educational goals. This transformation plays a key role in the wide acceptability and adoption of future and innovative TEL solutions by the learning community. Users need more transparent and meaningful technology to understand the rationale behind it and to gather evidence of its benefits for enhanced education. As was also pointed out by the European Commission's ET2020 Working Group on Digital Skills and Competences, it is extremely important to pay attention as to why we use technology and collect data, i.e., the reason and value behind enhancing learning with technology and collecting education data need to be clear.

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