This article introduces the special issue from the 2015 Learning Analytics and Knowledge conference. We describe the current state of the field and identify some of the trends in recent research. As the field continues to expand, there seem to be at least three directions of vigorous growth: (1) the inclusion of multimodal data (gesture, eye-tracking, biosensors), (2) the diversification of learning environments (MOOCs, classrooms, hands-on learning), and (3) new types of research questions considering a broader set of learning-related constructs (e.g., moving away from the focus on student retention).