14 DAY TRIAL // Blackboard has just announced that it has expanded its Blackboard Mobile Central app for iOS to the Android platform. The company's popular campus life and services application makes its debut for Android smartphones, at Northwestern University
Android is the third mobile platform that receives the native application, after iOS and Blackberry, which were launched in December 2009.
Blackboard Mobile Central is also available in a mobile Web version to support a wide range of Web-enabled phones and devices.
With the help of the application users will be able to stay connected with the university life and campus services through their smartphones and mobile devices.
Students, faculty, prospective students, parents, as well as anyone else interested in staying connected to an institution can download and use Blackboard Mobile Central free of charge.
Users will be able to navigate campus maps and course catalogs, event calendars, campus news, sports schedules, and even a campus directory, which allow calls or emails to professors and classmates to be made directly from the application.
“Most of our incoming students arrive with smartphones, and a growing number of these phones are Android devices,” said Harlan Wallach, Media Architect at Northwestern University's NUIT Academic & Research Technology group.
“The ability for us to reach students through smartphones is key to the overall experience and efficiency of our university. Working with Blackboard we've been able to do that quickly and with very high quality native applications that support the wide range of mobile devices our students are using. We're looking forward to exploring the ability to customize the app to meet the needs of individual schools and departments,” continued Wallach.
The new Android application will include Athletics, Courses, Directory, Library, Maps, News, Get Help and Links, with other features to be added soon.
Some of the key features of the Android application include: Widgets (allows users to quickly and easily access important information from Blackboard Mobile Central from their home screen.), Shortcuts (lets users create a direct shortcut to any one of the Blackboard Mobile Central modules directly on their phone's home screen).