For those of you who are old enough to remember the blackboard in school, you may be old enough to remember when teachers used blackboard rubbers as missiles when the class was naughty, and you may also remember when there were only three TV channels to choose from.
If we look back to when blackboards were first introduced in schools back in 1801, when James Pillans, a headmaster and geography teacher at the Old High School in Edinburgh, Scotland, who attached a piece of slate on the wall, and think how important as a teaching aid they have become.
I do not think James Pillans would ever have imagined on that day in 1801 when he decided to hang some slate up on the wall to write on for his class to see, that the principle of the blackboard would still be alive today in the form of a whiteboard.
The only real difference between James Pillans blackboard and the modern day whiteboard is technology and let’s not forget the screeching. The modern day blackboard is still an important teaching tool, and schools up and down the country are using the new type of blackboard, which is the whiteboard.
One of the popular whiteboards being used in schools is the Mobile Whiteboard Swivel Board, which gives the teacher lots of space to write on. It can also be easily positioned at an angle, to give the teacher more flexibility. It is not only schools and colleges that are using the Mobile Whiteboard Swivel Board; businesses and organisations are also using the modern day blackboard.
Although the blackboard was a great invention and teachers everywhere will always be grateful to James Pillans for his clever idea, the blackboard did have some negatives about it.
One of the biggest complaints of the blackboard was the noise that sometimes happened when using chalk, the noise that forced children to cover their ears. The other problems included how dirty the blackboard became and how teachers would go home with lots of chalk on their clothes. Another problem with the blackboard was how expensive they were and how difficult they were to fit in a classroom.
Thanks to whiteboards such as the Mobile Whiteboard Swivel Board, the important teaching tool at a bargain price here at The Whiteboard Shop which is very affordable. So not only has modern technology helped keep the tradition of the blackboard alive, it has also helped to make the important teaching aid more affordable.