WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Edison Township Public Schools has partnered
with Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) to launch a custom-designed
mobile application to enhance school and district communications,
the company announced today. In launching the app, Edison Public Schools will be the first K-12
district in the U.S. to leverage the Blackboard Mobile™
Central platform, already used widely by higher education
institutions worldwide.
The new app, which is scheduled for release in the fall, will
provide students, parents and the Edison
Township community with access to school news, district-wide
events, maps, contact directories and more, all on the world's
leading smartphones, mobile devices and platforms.
The app will also provide mobile access to Edison's Web-based Parent Portal,
giving parents the ability to securely access information on their
child's schedules, grades, and attendance. The district also plans
to use the Blackboard Mobile Software Development Kit (SDK) to
develop custom features for the larger Edison community including a real estate
module that will identify the associated elementary, middle and
high schools for specific addresses on the market.
"As more and more children and parents access and interact with
information on mobile devices outside of the classroom, there is a
great opportunity for K-12 schools and districts to leverage mobile
technology within the educational experience," said Dr. Richard
O'Malley, superintendent of Edison
Township. "Reaching parents on platforms they are already
comfortable and familiar with will lead to increased interaction
and engagement, which will ultimately lead to increased student
achievement."
With more than 15,000 students spread across 17 schools in
New Jersey, the district has a
diverse demographic of students and families that the mobile app
will help to better serve.
"A large number of our students have family members that live
all over the world and are interested in knowing more about our
schools," said O'Malley. "Leveraging Blackboard Mobile Central will
be a game changer for Edison as it
will give our district a global presence."
"Schools that leverage mobile have an opportunity to transform
the way students, teachers, parents and the larger community engage
and connect with each other in all parts of the educational
experience," said Kayvon Beykpour,
vice president and general manager of Blackboard Mobile.
"Edison's mobile app will provide
the entire Edison community with a
new mix of utility and connectivity that will increase interaction
and engagement at all levels, and demonstrates their visionary
approach and leadership in innovation."
The Edison Public Schools'
mobile app will be available later this fall as a free download to
mobile devices from the respective app stores. The app will be
available as a native application for Android™, BlackBerry®, Palm®
webOS™, and Apple® iOS devices for the iPhone® and iPod
touch®, as well as a mobile Web version to support all other
Web-enabled devices.
For more information about Blackboard Mobile, please visit:
http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Mobile/Overview.aspx
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-K filed
on February 18, 2011 and Form 10-Q
filed on August 4, 2011 with the SEC.
In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of August 18, 2011. 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
August 18, 2011.
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.