Walk into just about any classroom and you will find one: A dark green board on the wall, lined with pieces of chalk and felt erasers. Chalkboards, also commonly known as blackboards, have long been a part of daily classroom life, but just what is the history of the chalkboard?The earliest blackboards cannot properly be called chalkboards, as there was no chalk involved. They were simply small pieces of slate, and instead of chalk children would use another, smaller piece of slate to write on the board. Marks would be erased with a simple rag in order for the student to move onto the next problem.The earliest blackboards cannot properly be called chalkboards, as there was no chalk involved. They were simply small pieces of slate, and instead of chalk children would use another, smaller piece of slate to write on the board. Marks would be erased with a simple rag in order for the student to move onto the next problem.
In the late 18th and early 19th century, such "slateboards" were commonly used in schools in the United States and other countries. These small pieces of slate would be bound in a wooden frame to help strengthen the board and keep them from cracking. In those days paper was expensive and hard to come by, so these mini slate blackboards provided a good substitute.
In the past couple of decades, many schools are beginning to phase out use of chalkboards for whiteboards over fears of the hazardous effects of chalk dust. The principle, however, remains the same, and blackboards will continue to be used in schools for many years to come.
I think this technique of writing did not go away yet but in U.S. it did. As some say it’s an extinct technology but they’re wrong. In India, this technique is still being used, even in major universities. Now days in US, they went to projector screen presentation and all the digital equipment. So I think there might be still hope for this techniques existence in a distance future. It may not be in our country but other countries around the world still might enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI remember being in grade school and at the end of the day the teacher would pick kids to go outside and "clap" the erasers together. As a joke we would stuff a small piece chalk into the eraser so when the teacher would wipe the board it would make chalk lines.
ReplyDeleteNow you can see how this type of learning method is fazing out. In my daughters grade school they now use dry erase boards to write on and at Bucks they have the same dry erase boards but also use projectors. It’s weird to see how something this simple can actually impact our learning methods.
I remember when I was in school the teacher would always use the chalk board. I also still remember that one music teacher who was scratch her nails down the board to get our attention. It use to hurt my ears so much. But now they all have those white boards and smart boards. They may be afraid that the dust from the chalk could hurt you but I doubt it could. It never any one so far has it? Everyone is so scared that things can hurt these day. They markers may not hurt you but cost more one thing. And they aren't good for the environment.
ReplyDeleteI remember chalkboards from elementary school and I loved getting a turn to go up and do a math problem on the board! Chalkboards have obviously been around for a very long time. Today you really don’t see too many chalkboards in schools now you mostly see Whiteboards which I think are a lot better and also the Smart Board which I have no idea how to use!
ReplyDeleteWell today's technology has been really fast. I still remember that my dad use to tell me that how his teacher use to teach them. he told me that when he use to go to school they actually didn't had that much area that they can get class for all students. so when he was in 3 grade they use to sit outside and study and his teacher use to give everyone a slate and chalk to write and i still have my dad slate and chalk in India. even when i was in High School in here we had chalkboard, but we also had smart board which is really good. not only India but there are many other countries that still have slate or black board. when i use to go to school i didn't like sitting in front of the class because whenever the teacher use to erase thinks from chalkboard then the dust use to come directly to our mouth.but today's technology has changed a lot and it will be really helpful to our future generation.
ReplyDeleteI remember clapping out the erasers too! It was a form of punishment in my school. If you were disruptive in class, you had to stay after and clap out the erasers and sometimes even miss the bus! And to think that today the kids have white erase boards or personal computers with powerpoint on each desk. What ever happened to good old blackboards? I miss the smell of the chalk, but not that squeaking!!
ReplyDeleteSome people like things to remain as they are and see advances in technology as a step backwards, this is not the case with chalk boards. Moving from a chalk board to a white board is definitly an upgrade. I can still remember the terrible smell of the chalk dust and the sound it made. White boards are easier to deal with and not very hard to clean. Pretty soon every classroom will have a smartboards and it will all be controlled by computers.
ReplyDeleteIts funny to see how as technology advances some things change, yet remain the same. Going from a blackboard to the smart-board seems like a huge step in forward thinking, and it is, but only feels like an update rather than an upgrade. It still resembles the old traditional blackboard, which so many of us are familiar with when thinking about a classroom, but this allows the students and teacher to interact with other technology of our day (computer). It brings a whole new way of learning to the students and safer environment by eliminating chalk dust in the rooms. Although I am waiting for the day when boards our obsolete and a new way of learning is introduced to the classroom. A day when my children with ask what a black/smart-board is. Maybe a little matrix style where plug-and-play is the feature.
ReplyDeleteThis method of teaching using chalk boards or slate boards as they were once called seems slightly primitive and i think will soon be completely extinct as more and more schools are adapting to the new technology such as smart boards (which are used currently in most colleges throughout the United States). It seems more efficient and time consuming using these smart boards so that teachers do not have to continuously wash down the chalkboards with rags anymore, hopefully we as a society will completely be able to put these old slate boards behind us and move on with the flow of technology.
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