Megan McGinnis

1 Evolution of Chalkboard to SmartBoard

Take a look inside a classroom today, what do you see Maybe a SmartBoard, i!ads, com"uter, Elmo, or maybe even a micro"hone, but these technologies were not always inside the classroom# Take a ste" back over a hundred and fifty years ago into the 1$%%s when things were sim"ler and learning took "lace in one classroom, and one teacher taught you everything you needed to know in life# Back then all a teacher needed in the classroom was a sim"le chalkboard and a "iece of chalk# &ooking back though into the first classrooms, "eo"le often wonder, how did the chalkboard come about 'hen was it first used in the classroom (eading this "a"er, these )uestions, along with many more will be answered and hel" give you a better understanding in to the evolution of the chalkboard to the SmartBoard# Before the individual slat chalkboards, students were using "a"er and ink but because they were so e*"ensive, schools needed to come u" with something new for students to use and on a daily basis# +End of the 1$th century, students in Euro"e and ,merica were still using individual slats made of actual slate or "ieces of wood coated with "aint and grit and framed with wood- ./istory of classroom0# &uckily in 1$%1, 1ames !illans, the headmaster of the 2ld /igh School of Edinburgh, Scotland invented what we now know as the chalkboard# 2riginally called a blackboard, the chalkboard, allowed teachers to now educate larger numbers of children and saved teachers from the arduous task of re3writing "roblems over and over again on individual slats for each student# This was now becoming known as the most im"ortant educational tool in history# Teachers now were able to "resent the same material all at once and brainstorm new ideas that students came u" with# ,fter years of use in the classroom, teachers and students were noticing that the chalkboard was having more negative side effects4 chalk dust, allergies and later down the line dust on technologies, than "ositive side effects# Since there seemed to be more issues with the chalkboard, inventors needed to come u" with a new invention that would still be useful in the classroom but would have less negative side effects# 5t was, +not until the 167%s that the slate blackboard began to give way to boards manufactured with steel boards coated with "orcelain3based green enamel- ./istory of classroom0# Green boards became more "o"ular in the classroom because their was less chalk "owder, chalk lasted longer and the writing was more like dry erase boards# This was an im"rovement to the chalk "owder, became more "leasing and more economical# Even with the new invention of the green.chalkboard0, teachers were noticing that the chalk dust was becoming a "roblem, as well as not being able to have a variety use of colors# The )uestion then became, was there a new invention that could be introduced to the classroom that could re"lace the chalkboard and still be able to teach large numbers of students &uckily in the 168%s, Martin /eit a 9orean 'ar vet invented what is now known as the whiteboard# The whiteboard had the same "olished surface from film laminate and negatives, which made it easy to create for Martin, since he worked in "hotogra"hy# The whiteboard was

Megan McGinnis

sold to ;ry3mark in the 167%s and they began to sell them on the market, as well as to schools# 5t was not until the 166%s, that whiteboards, +began to be on the rise in schools and work"laces when concerns rose over health issues caused by the chalk dust- ./istory of 'hiteboards0# Even with the health concerns being noted everywhere, only :1< of all schools in the 166%s converted from chalkboards to whiteboards# 'ith the introduction of the whiteboard there seemed to be more advantages then disadvantages in the classroom# The whiteboard, +eliminated the dust = mess, as well as offered more color choices and clearer, more vibrant visual stimulation to students- ./istory of 'hiteboards0# Students were now able to go u" to the whiteboard, write on the board, be able to erase easily and even use a wide range of colors to hel" show their e*"lanation# 5t seemed now that the newest invention into the school system was really going to change the way that students learned and teachers taught# 5t wasn>t until years later that teachers were noticing that when you erase constantly, traces remain from the markers and it left ugly and "ermanent marks on your whiteboard# 5t was becoming very frustrating to teachers and students alike when they would go work on a "roblem and reali?e that they could not see the "roblem because of smudge marks or because of the left over markings# 'hat were classrooms left with now 'as there a new invention that could change the way teachers taught, and that would not have so many negative side effects 5nvented in 1661 by Smart Technologies . a com"any based in Canada0, was the newest invention that would change the way that all business> and classrooms would be teaching and learning@ the SmartBoard has been invented# Even though it was not introduced into classrooms until :%%A, the SmartBoard seemed to be the newest technology source that would change the way teachers taught and change the way students learn# The SmartBoard is, +an interactive whiteboard that allows teachers to draw, ty"e, surf the 5nternet, or "resent lectures with touch screen technology- .'oBenski0# The SmartBoard uses the same white background as the whiteboard, yet the SmartBoard has more ca"abilities than any other thing used in the classroom before# Cow that we are in the :1st century and the technology era, it is im"ortant that schools be u" to date in the newest technologies and this means having the SmartBoard used in the classroom# Teachers are now being introduced to new technology that hel"s them "resent subBect matter in more engaging ways and give kids a hands on e*"erience that is verbal, visual, auditory and interactive# Even though not all schools are e)ui""ed with a SmartBoard .due to the heavy "rice tag0, does it really seem to make a difference though in the way students learn Even though students are now able to get direct access to the 5nternet, videos, and even be able to create a )uick document that they can "rint, there does seem to be many disadvantages to the SmartBoard# Many "eo"le often note that the SmartBoard4 only allows one "erson at a time to be at the board .unlike the whiteboard0, system crashes .so does every other "iece of technology0, hard to write on because something will always be blocked, and the teacher will always be

Megan McGinnis

constantly blocking an image# Even with all of these disadvantages there still seems to be )uite a bit of advantages# The SmartBoard4 teaches conce"ts using online resources and A; models, you are able to "resent information with sound, vision and touch all at once, hel"s visually im"aired and hearing im"aired students, as well as it increases student involvement# Even though the SmartBoard can only have one "erson at a time on the board it does seem that this new technology will revolutioni?e the way that teachers teach and how students learn# Dideo E(& link4 htt"4FFyoutu#beF,nh/GG!M1hH

'orks Cited /istory of the Classroom Blackboard# htt"4FFeducation#cu3"ortland#eduFblogFreference3 materialFthe3history3of3the3classroom3blackboardF /istory of 'hiteboards# www#whiteyboard#comFhistory3of3the3whiteboards#html# :%1%

Megan McGinnis

'oBenski, 1erry# Erasing the !ast, Ty"ing the Guture4 Timeline of the Chalkboard#htt"4FF"eo"le#lis#illinois#eduFJchi"F"roBectsFtimelineF1$%1woBenski#htm