WASHINGTON, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expanding the
reach of mobile learning opportunities to a full range of the
world's most popular mobile platforms, Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq:
BBBB) today released native applications for Android™, BlackBerry®
and iPhone® OS powered devices that give millions of students full
access to their course information directly from their
smartphones.
Like the existing iPad® version, the new Blackboard Mobile™
Learn apps are available free at app stores. They recreate and
enrich the course experience of Blackboard Learn™, the
leading online teaching and learning platform, in native
applications designed specifically for each mobile platform. With
the apps, students can check grades and assignments, add discussion
board comments and blog posts, email their classmates and
instructors, and more.
Leveraging the unique user experience of each platform – like
the Android HTC EVO™ 4G running on Sprint 3G and 4G (which delivers
download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G)(1), or the
Multi-Touch capabilities of iPhone OS devices – the apps offer
students an immersive and engaging way to access their course work
and interactive learning opportunities.
"Blackboard Mobile Learn gives users the ability to teach,
learn, and interact – all through their mobile devices," said
Chris Bray, Blackboard Administrator
at the University of Arkansas. "I'm
really excited about the application, as are students and
instructors who have seen it."
Blackboard also announced plans to offer a mobile Web version of
Blackboard Mobile Learn later this year to extend access beyond
smartphones to users of a wide range of Web-enabled phones and
mobile devices.
"We're moving quickly to support broader access to mobile
learning with applications that leverage the best of what this fast
evolving area has to offer," said Michael
L. Chasen, Blackboard's president and CEO. "These apps make
learning a central part of the mobile experience that is quickly
becoming a way of life for so many students and learners."
Schools have multiple options for deploying Blackboard Mobile
Learn, either through an annual license that supports all device
platforms or a no cost option, made possible through a special
partnership with Sprint (NYSE: S), which supports Android and
BlackBerry smartphones on the Now Network™, as well as iPad,
iPhone® and iPod touch® devices over a Wi-Fi connection.
"We've had a great experience with Blackboard Mobile Learn and
we're very pleased with the direction Blackboard is taking with
mobile learning," said Kara N.
Monroe, Assistant Vice Provost at Ivy
Tech Community College. "The feedback from faculty and
students has been very positive. We continue to look for ways to
give our students access to the tools they need to be successful,
and this is another one of those opportunities. And the no cost
option including Sprint will help us bring mobile learning to our
students more quickly than we might have otherwise."
Support for Blackboard Mobile Learn is included in the upcoming
release of Blackboard Learn (Service Pack 1 for Release 9.1),
making it the first to feature built-in support for mobile
learning. Higher education and professional education institutions
in the U.S. and Canada running
Blackboard Learn Release 8 or higher can also enable access by
installing the free Blackboard Mobile Web Services Building
Block™. Availability will expand to U.S. and Canadian K-12
markets and to international markets outside the U.S. beginning in
August.
For more information on the apps and their availability from app
stores, as well as a series of short demo videos, please visit:
http://www.blackboard.com/resources/mobile/landingpage_devices.html
For more information about Blackboard Mobile Learn,
please visit http://blackboard.com/Mobile/Overview.aspx. For more
information about Blackboard Mobile Learn on Sprint devices, please
visit www.sprint.com/blackboard.
About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise
technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of
millions of students and learners around the world every day.
Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12,
professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend
teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and
security, and communicate more effectively with their communities.
Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia
and Australia.
Any statements in this press release about future
expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other
statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans,"
"expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ
materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements
as a result of various important factors, including the factors
discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-Q filed
on May 7, 2010 with the SEC. In
addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of June 15, 2010. The Company anticipates that
subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views
to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company
specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to
June 15, 2010.
Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Use of this trademark is
subject to Google Permissions.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and
symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In
Motion Limited.
Apple, iPad, iPhone and iPod touch are registered trademarks of
Apple Inc.
(1) "Up to 10x faster" based on download speed comparison
of 3G's 600 kbps vs. 4G's 6 Mbps. Industry published 3G
avg. speeds (600 kbps-1.7 Mbps); 4G avg. speeds (3-6 Mbps). Actual
speeds may vary. Sprint 4G currently available in over 30 markets
and counting, and on select devices. See
www.sprint.com/4G for details. Not all services
available on 4G and coverage may default to 3G/separate network
where 4G unavailable.
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.