Digital instrument didactics (DID) is a practical component of modern pedagogy that reflects the process of acquiring knowledge using a variety of digital means of obtaining, processing and interpreting empirical data. The fundamental difference between e-learning and DID is that in the former case digitized content acts only as an activator of sensory perception of information, simplifying the understanding of learning objects. Instead, DID reflects training using technological means (such as digital measurement systems) and can be electronic, classical, and hybrid. Therefore, e-learning can be seen as an extension of the traditional learning process at the level of the standard of secondary education, and DID as a component of specialized science education. DID complements the scientific method of conducting research and engineering design with such opportunities as creation of interactive computer models, visualization of experimental data and their comparison with theory, predicting the course of the process due to changes of influence factors. The development of digital didactics determines changes in the structure of teacher activity, which can be interpreted as didactic engineering.