Mobile messaging company PageOne has announced that it will be launching its MoodleMobile plug-in module with 2-way messaging functionality at the BETT educational technology exhibition, which runs from 14-17 January at Olympia in London.
The first version of MoodleMobile was released in the summer of 2008. It allows Moodle Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) users access to its JANET txt messaging service. Users can send a message to any existing contact groups, enabling a large number of people to be contacted simultaneously. Messages can be sent to as many or as few people as required, and users can select individual recipients from a list.
Educational institutions can use the system to to quickly and efficiently communicate with students on a number of important issues, including student timetabling, financial payments, appointment reminders, registration and enrolment, truancy, parent notification, library returns, classroom notifications and exam results.
The addition of 2-way functionality means that students can also use the system to reply directly to their tutors or message sender, thus creating an easy and cost-effective means of creating a constructive dialogue within the Moodle VLE.
By extending communications in the Moodle VLE to include 2-way messaging, PageOne hopes to help educational institutions further enhance user experience and increase the likelihood of learning success. JANET txt is a suite of secure, SMS-based messaging services provided by PageOne on behalf of JANET (UK), one of the worlds leading network infrastructures, which is committed to the needs of the education and research communities in the UK.
As well as exhibiting this new and advanced version of MoodleMobile, PageOne will also be running presentations and demonstrating its other solutions, including Campaign Manager which creates interactive SMS campaigns in minutes; an SMS plug-in for Microsoft Excel, which enables users to send text  messages direct from Microsoft Excel; and PageOnes Integration services, which offer flexible secure integration APIs and development support.