Blackboard Releases Native Android App

Blackboard Inc. has released a native Android application today, bringing campus life and services to your favorite mobile OS.  Blackboard Mobile Central is branded and custom built for each institution and is designed to help students, teachers, alumni, and more stay connected. Users can navigate campus maps, check event calendars, keep up with sports, and browse a campus directory.  Other details include the ability to search course catalogs and call or email professors and classmates directly from within the app. Blackboard Mobile Central is free to download and use, but does not work unless your institution supports it.   For more information about Blackboard Mobile Central, head to blackboard.com.

Blackboard Brings Mobile Campus App to Android Smartphones

Application Will Connect Fast Growing Android User Base to University Life

WASHINGTON – November 8, 2010 – Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced the release of a native application for Android™ smartphones, debuting at Northwestern University, that brings the company’s popular campus life and services application to one of the fastest growing mobile platforms.

With the addition of the Android application, Blackboard Mobile™ Central is now available in native applications for all major mobile platforms including iOS® which supports the Apple® iPhone®, iPad™ and iPod® touch, and BlackBerry®. The application is also available in a mobile Web version to support a broader range of Web-enabled phones and devices.

Custom built and branded for each institution, Blackboard Mobile Central brings university life and campus services to users through smartphones and mobile devices. After it is enabled, the application is free to students, faculty, prospective students, parents, alumni and anyone else interested in staying connected to an institution, and can be downloaded from smartphone app stores. With the app, users can navigate campus maps and course catalogs, event calendars, campus news, sports schedules, and even a campus directory that allows users to call or email professors and classmates directly from the app.

“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.”

Northwestern launched Blackboard Mobile Central on the iOS platform in December 2009, and is the first institution to expand access to Android smartphones. Northwestern has also enabled access to Blackboard Mobile™ Learn on selected devices to enable students and faculty to access their online course information on their smartphones.

“Supporting Android is part of our overall commitment to bring the best of campus life to users in a way that is convenient and engaging,” said Kayvon Beykpour, Vice President of Blackboard Mobile. “We’ve made a significant investment in delivering a unique experience to users of all platforms, and we’re excited to bring our mobile apps to the quickly expanding segment of mobile consumers using Android devices.”

The new Android application will include Athletics, Courses, Directory, Library, Maps, News, Get Help and Links, with other features to be added soon. Developed as a native application exclusive to the Android platform, Blackboard Mobile Central for the Android leverages the device’s unique features to provide an engaging user experience, including:

· Widgets, an Android-specific feature that allows users to quickly and easily access important information from Blackboard Mobile Central at a glance from their home screen.

· Shortcuts, which let users create a direct shortcut to any one of the Blackboard Mobile Central modules directly on their phone’s home screen so that it can be accessed immediately without even opening the app.

For more information about Blackboard Mobile Central, please visit: http://www.blackboard.com/Mobile/Mobile-Central.aspx