Blackboard adds BlackBerry to Mobile Web Platform
04 November, 2009
category: Education
Campus card provider Blackboard has launched a native application for BlackBerry mobile devices, as part of the new Blackboard Mobile platform which is being leveraged by a growing number of campuses and K-12 schools to deliver campus life services and content to mobile devices. The new BlackBerry app debuted at the University of Washington this week.
The BlackBerry application enables users to navigate course catalogs and campus maps, e-mail professors and classmates and receive real time updates on course schedules, campus events, news and sports with Mobile Central, Blackboard Mobile’s flagship suite of applications. Users can also identify exact campus locations with GPS.
Originally optimized for users of Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, the same Mobile Central experience is now available to BlackBerry users. The suite is also generally accessible to users of any smart phone or mobile Web-enabled device.
“This new platform allows us to easily reach our students, faculty and staff around the clock and deliver information whenever and wherever they want it, which increasingly is on mobile devices like the BlackBerry and iPhone,” said David Morton, director of Mobile Communication Strategies at the University of Washington. “
“Institutions are looking for new ways to engage and support their communities, and we’re building a mobile platform that helps them do that,” said Michael Chasen, Blackboard’s president and CEO. “Increasingly, we hope to help institutions change expectations by enabling mobile services and interactions that represent the full range of the education and campus experience.”
Originally developed by San Francisco-based Terriblyclever Design, which was acquired by Blackboard in July, Mobile Central is branded for each institution and accessed by users who download their institution’s application.