New technologies rather than educational principles and philosophies have tended to dictate the shape of development in the world of elearning. Giving educators an active and determining rather than a passive role in the development of learning systems is vital if e-learning is to realise its transformative potential in education in the 21st century. Many of the currently available learning technologies and systems, generally devised by technicians rather than educators, have offered limited room for creative or effective teaching. The limitations of these systems--their time consuming nature and their failure to adapt the technology to take account of educational contexts--need to be understood, acknowledged and overcome. The next generation of learning technologies and systems will only take us forward if educators have a much greater stake in controlling how they are developed. The article identifies some key theoretical and practical issues which should be given priority in newly emerging learning technologies and systems.