Essay on Legal Issues in Adult Education

The use of mobile phones in learning has demonstrated itself as a quicker, flexible, and accessible means for many students, regardless of their locations. The widespread use of mobile phones, especially in the educational field, can be accredited to the growth of mobile phones and services industry and the mushrooming competences of the current phone generation. Consequently, the use of mobile phone gadgets in adult education has been analyzed in various contexts. Aker et al. (2012) assert that mobile phones positively impact the outcome of adult learning, especially within poor communities and rural populations of developing countries. Mobile phones can also pass contextually relevant information, especially in clinical education, creating digital narratives used in adult learning and as tools for interactive museum guidebooks. However, apart from the evident benefits that stem from mobile phones in adult learning, some worries emanate from the misapplication of this technology that can result in legal issues and hence affect the adoption of the concept. One significant legal issue in mobile learning is privacy and data security. This paper will examine arguments on the potential legal issues in mobile learning in adult education, specifically focusing on data security and privacy.

Background

In the current world that emphasizes mobility and efficiency, people have become heavily reliant on mobile technologies. Mobile phones are recognized as an emerging innovation that has significantly transformed society and people’s daily lives. The use of mobile gadgets in adult education allows learners to study anytime and anywhere, hence extending their learning beyond the classrooms. In the United States, the use of phones in adult education has increased greatly. According to a survey by Pew Research Center (2019), about 92 percent of adults in the United States own phones. Additionally, a majority of these individuals have embraced the idea of using mobile devices as learning tools.

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The United States federal government has played a crucial role in the adoption of mobile learning through funding several technology and innovation programs with an aim of modernizing schools. Due to the government’s policy that regards educational technology as a means of reducing overall expenditure, it has committed resources towards this course. Equally, the adoption of technology has been embraced by learning institutions and learners alike. As a result, mobile learning is a growing trend in the country. However, so far, there are no major or countrywide mobile learning initiatives for American schools. Most of mobile learning activities are at an institutional or district level. Many of these initiatives are due to individual interests of teachers. However, a few of them are supported by global education and technology providers such as Google, Pearson, and Apple.

It is important to note that mobile learning, both formal and informal, has greatly developed, transitioning from the computer era to the present generation to modern smartphones. Furthermore, one may argue that mobile learning is not an extension or descendant of e-learning but rather a dissimilar learning practice and philosophy. This assertion is rational given that people do not consume their smartphones services the same way as they use their laptops or desktops. In fact, the differences between mobile learning and e-learning are so pronounced that a different path, concerning user experience, graphic, instructional, and presentational design, to name a few, needs to be followed.

Despite the widespread acceptance of mobile technologies as a convenient means of learning, advances in this field have mainly focused on delivery, deployment, and development, paying little attention to the privacy and security of personal information. Several authors have downplayed the importance of data security and privacy in mobile learning. For instance, Martin et al. (2011) examine the state-of-the-art middleware and structures aiding ubiquitous and mobile learning. The authors conclude that there is a need for further development in the mobile phone security and privacy sphere to build systems that safeguard users’ rights. In numerous cases, privacy and security fears have been conceptualized, considered, and downplayed similarly within the context of mobile learning.

However, downplaying user privacy and data security issues in mobile learning is unreasonable since it can plunge the concerned learning institutions into legal challenges and affect its implementation and effectiveness in adult education. Additionally, as noted earlier, it is crucial to note that the security and pr