Privacy and Data Rights for Adult English as a Second Language (ESL) Students

Abstract

In the USA, instructors need to ensure the user privacy and data rights of their adult English as a second language (ESL) students. The ways in which educational technology (EdTech) companies track user activity and sell user data to third parties raises ethical concerns for student privacy and data rights. ESL students are particularly vulnerable because of the vague language in privacy policies and user agreements, differences in terms of state surveillance, and insufficient user privacy and data protections. In addition to a discussion on the ethical concerns within EdTech and higher education, one method and two tools to help ESL instructors and educators are provided. These assist with ESL or international students in their classrooms as a means to evaluate EdTech tools and make decisions on whether to adopt or require a digital tool.