The potential of digital technology for mathematics education has been widely investigated in recent decades. Still, much remains unknown about how to use tools to foster mathematics learning. To address this issue, I first consider the didactical functionalities of digital technology in mathematics education, and the overall modest effects of using these tools for learning. Next, to find possible explanations of these findings I address three relevant views: (1) a Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) view on tool use, (2) an instrumental approach to tool use, and (3) an embodied view on cognition. As a conclusion, I claim that all three lenses share a focus on mathematical meaning. Whereas the RME view provides important general guidelines, an integrative approach to tool use, which I label embodied instrumentation, and which includes the careful alignment of embodied and instrumental experiences, seems promising to generate powerful learning activities.