Mobile Messenger and Poll Everywhere Collaborate to Deliver SMS Learning Program to High School Students and Teachers

LOS ANGELES and SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking advantage of the most ubiquitous device in the world – the mobile phone – Mobile Messenger and Poll Everywhere today announced a partnership to provide high school educators with an interactive SMS-based education program.  By leveraging the widely accessible SMS platform, the collaboration successfully scales Poll Everywhere's mobile participation system to improve student engagement, increase interaction and raise test scores.  

According to an eMarketer Kids and Teens: Mobile Everywhere July 2010 report, 85 percent of 15-18 year olds have a mobile phone.  In addition, an April 2010 Pew Internet Project on teens and mobile phones revealed that the typical American teen sends and receives 50 or more messages per day, or 1,500 per month. Poll Everywhere's unique SMS program transforms the role of mobile phone from a distraction in the classroom to a powerful learning tool, allowing millions of U.S. high school students to send, via their existing mobile devices, SMS responses to educators' quizzes or lectures.  Accessing results in real time allows educators to gauge students' overall understanding of an assignment or discussion and adjust teaching methods to help students learn and improve test scores.  

"I use Poll Everywhere to both pre-test and to post-test students 'on the fly' during class.  Of course, I also use it to poll the students about various aspects of our class," said Greg Anthony, Pine Ridge Middle School Science Department Chair. "I think that Poll Everywhere has the potential to show how the power of cell phones may be harnessed in the school setting and change the way students are taught and assessed in the classroom.  Poll Everywhere's approach is much more cost effective than purchasing 'clickers' for every student."

Poll Everywhere will provide the SMS classroom response platform in collaboration with Mobile Messenger, a leading aggregator and mobile solutions provider.  Mobile Messenger will offer free SMS traffic for students and educators utilizing the Poll Everywhere platform for classroom related messaging.  

"Classroom Response Systems have exploded in popularity. The problem with these 'clickers' is that they're essentially an expensive TV remote adapted to allow students to take quizzes," said Jeff Vyduna, CEO of Poll Everywhere. "Using Poll Everywhere with students' phones essentially replaces these systems for about a dollar per student per year."

"Sending text messages has become an integral part of a teenager's daily life," said Michael Iaccarino, president and CEO of Mobile Messenger. "And, education presents an exciting new application area for SMS as it offers teens an alternative way to engage and connect in a classroom.  We are thrilled to be working with Poll Everywhere on this initiative and look forward to seeing it in action."

"The potential of mobile devices to empower teachers to better engage and educate high school students in the classroom and on the go must not be dismissed.  Our children are digital natives who are immersed and engaged with technology and Qualcomm is pleased to have had the opportunity to help facilitate this collaboration between these two innovative companies," said Isaac Babbs, general manager of Qualcomm Services Labs.  "With the roadmap they have in place, Mobile Messenger and Poll Everywhere are able to provide affordable tools for the educational use of student-owned cell phones and are paving the way for the adoption of mobile phones for learning."

About Mobile Messenger

Mobile Messenger is the leading Mobile Solutions Provider, supplying its partners with cutting edge technology and services that facilitate the marketing, distribution, and monetization of digital content to mobile devices. By providing strong, secure, and trusted connections to consumers, Mobile Messenger helps businesses around the globe build long-lasting, successful brands and mobile campaigns. Established in 1999, Mobile Messenger has unrivaled experience as an aggregator, mobile enabler, and content messaging supplier. Today, Mobile Messenger runs successful operations in North America, The United Kingdom, South Africa and the Asia Pacific Region.  In November 2009 the company acquired m-Qube mobile delivery gateway from VeriSign. Mobile Messenger is headquartered in Los Angeles, with a technology hub in Boston. Silver Lake Sumeru (http://www.silverlake.com/sumeru), a leading private equity company in California, owns a majority of the company.  For more information, visit: www.mobilemessenger.com.  

About Poll Everywhere

Poll Everywhere creates stylish real-time experiences at events using mobile devices.  From conferences to classrooms, it is the easiest way to collect data and solicit questions from audiences of any size. Founded in 2008 as part of the Y Combinator seed program, Poll Everywhere has helped more people conduct text message voting than any other company. Audiences can also text, tweet, or use any web device to send questions and comments directly to a presenter's slides. Poll Everywhere has been used at TED, Google, McDonalds and MIT; on Travel Channel's Man vs. Food; and in thousands of schools, colleges, and universities. For more information, visit: www.polleverywhere.com

SOURCE Mobile Messenger; Poll Everywhere