On November 4, 2009, Blackboard announced the launch of 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 BlackBerry application enables users to enjoy an enhanced experience while navigating course catalogs and campus maps, e-mailing professors and classmates and receiving real time updates on course schedules, campus events, news and sports with Mobile Central (formerly MobilEdu), Blackboard Mobile's flagship suite of applications.
Originally optimized for users of Apple iPhone and iPod Touch devices, the best Mobile Central experience is now available to users of BlackBerry devices. The suite is also generally accessible to users of any smart phone or mobile Web enabled device.
Originally developed by San Francisco-based Terriblyclever Design, Mobile Central is branded for each institution and accessed by users who download their institution's application. The category defining suite of mobile applications for education is helping to better connect students, parents, faculty, prospective students and alumni to the campus experience in a way that wasn't possible before.
With Mobile Central, users have access to course catalogs, directories and maps, they can identify exact campus locations with GPS and they can check campus news, schedules, and real-time scores for athletic teams. In addition, open APIs for Blackboard Mobile enable institutions to extend the platform's offerings to fully customize and personalize the school's iPhone, BlackBerry and mobile Web interfaces.
Blackboard mobile platform overview