Android is open, and now Blackboard Mobile Central for Android is too

Today we announced the availability of an “SDK” for integrating other Android applications with Blackboard Mobile Central.  Ever since we released Android for Mobile Central last Fall, we’ve known that we wanted to allow third party developers to join our Android ecosystem.  Our focus is, and always will be, on creating tools that do the greatest good for the greatest number of our users. This means that specialized tools (discipline-specific assessment tools, regional utilities, integration with specific systems) aren’t something we’re likely to develop ourselves. Now, with the Android SDK for Mobile Central, schools can integrate those tools themselves.

Rather than release a structured set of tools and APIs for building Mobile Central modules like for our SDK for iOS, the Android solution leaves the door completely open: if you want to integrate your existing Android app into Mobile Central, you can, with very little effort.  Our build scripts will automatically detect the entry point, logo, and title of the module, and add it to the springboard automatically. At some point, we may release a shared library to encourage consistency of UI with the rest of Android Mobile Central, but for now we just wanted to open the door and see what solutions come out of our talented developer pool.

Existing clients: if you want to get started integrating SDK modules into your Android Mobile Central app, you can submit a ticket to your Client Implementation Manager.