Much laboratory work in school science involves observation and measurement; an important development, in recent years, has been the application of computers to this activity. Data-logging techniques have been available to science teachers for some time (outside the United Kingdom [UK], this technology is sometimes known as microcomputer-based laboratories or MBL). It is only relatively recently, however, that data-logging technology has become sufficiently user-friendly and affordable for it to be more widely adopted. The use of sensors, interfaces and data-loggers to capture and record data, and its subsequent display and analysis using computer software, now constitute a realistic alternative to traditional approaches. With the National Curriculum for initial teacher training including information and communications technology now in place in the UK, the time seems opportune to take stock of current use of data-logging methods and to consider how they might be further developed. This article describes how data-logging currently appears to be used in science lessons. It considers how the demands of the National Curriculum have shaped current practice, and argues for a shift of emphasis in the pupils' role in data-logging activities. Some suggestions are then offered for encouraging pupils to engage in more interpretative activity, which recent software readily supports.