Comments on: I Hate Blackboards

By: Burl

Burl — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:37:13 +0000

We install blackboards at our University (University of Toronto) because:
low maintenance
wide appeal (not all, of course)
low cost
no training required

Whiteboards are more visible, but have the marker-cap and smell issues. so they are not as bullet-proof. Electronic options are great – but require training and have down time. Of course, with a screen in front (hopefully allowing for the screen and part of the blackboard to show at the same time), a number of the electronic options can occur in conjunction with blackboards. So we use the blackboard as the ‘lowest-common denominator’ interface. It is not the best for all. But in terms of being a reliable base level for the greatest number, it is very effective.

A number of the comments above fall into concerns about which is the best or worst teaching method. Of course, most rooms or blackboards will outlive one user, and everyone will agree that not all teachers should be forced to teach in exactly the same way. So it comes down to providing options to accommodate many styles of professor and student. When I spec a room, I want as much blackboard as I can get on the front wall (24′ sounds good to me) – and then we can start worrying about the harder parts; data projectors etc.

When I was a TA, if I didn’t want to use the blackboard, I’d just go digital. I almost never used the blackboard myself, except for posting announcements etc. But I’d spec it in a room every time.

By: coolstar

coolstar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:45:05 +0000

Well, I share the hate of real blackboards; chalk dust is one of the very, very few things I seem to be allergic to. Love whiteboards but understand why some people don’t like the markers. and I NEVER, EVER make my notes available (I can understand how that works for upper division and grad classes though; my best class in grad school was taught by an atrocious lecturer who had the good sense to make his hand written notes available) as I sorta want my intro students to actually show up. but I tell them the truth: aside from simulations and movies etc., mostly my slides are for MY benefit and they should NEVER, EVER attempt to copy slides down verbatim.
Interesting factoid: try writing on the board (of any type) with your off hand. You may be surprised by the results.

By: Yvette

Yvette — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:09:06 +0000

Wow I never realized my physics department was such an anomaly here- we have a historic building meaning during renovations a few years ago there was a fight to keep our blackboards to the jealousy of surrounding departments (in large part because whiteboard markers always seem to be in critical shortage, whereas chalk never seems to have that problem). And now that I TA this year I too write on a chalkboard and find it much more satisfying than the alternatives!

By: PPT Master

PPT Master — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:59:30 +0000

I like whiteboards for small groups, and one on one discussions, or for personal use. But Powerpoint rules the day when it comes to presentation and explanation. There’s a lot of cool tricks you can do with powerpoint, and I rather like spending my time trying to explain that what I am saying makes sense.

By: Mario

Mario — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:19:58 +0000

The magna doodle idea I have seen implemented in Kyoto. Actually, the company that produces the board is not Japanese, if I remember correctly. I want to buy this board for my office, because can’t stand neither the chalk dust, nor the smell of the aceton. Strangely, I cannot locate the company on google (tried various key words). Probably, because this type of board is not very widely used.

Mario

ps: the board is about 4feet x 6-7feet and it costs quite a bit.

By: Claire C Smith

Claire C Smith — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:18:12 +0000

Julianne,

Yes good idea! LOL!

I was laughing my head off your comment!

(At first, I was going to put what you said too, or expressive dance at least, before the silly comment I made). Of course I was just being jokey and for that reason I actually think the Magnadoodle idea is very good.

It’s a difficult one as it’s your job day in day out. Maybe you could have a chat with your University bosses to see what they can arrange. It’s been a while since I have been at Uni (early 90’s) so not sure what the situation is with regards to how lecture theatres are kitted out these days, especially in the US.

Cheers,

Claire

By: Art

Art — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:20:29 +0000

Magnadoodle is fine. But chalk and blackboard is still the low cost, low tech, low energy, renewable solution.

Chalkboards are little more than plywood and a specialized paint. Chalk is very basic. Expenditures in energy and oil for both are fairly low. Magnadoodle, not so much.

You have a point about visibility of chalkboards but this just suggests small class sizes. Perhaps some sort of technical improvement in chalk to make it more visible.

By: arfnotz

arfnotz — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:05:11 +0000

I once had a math teacher with wild, flying hair and a weird german/polish accent. Class was in the 2nd floor of an ancient building with large triple hung windows. He worked on this long stage/riser that was level with the window sill, and the window was open because we didnt have A/C and it was spring. He would race back and forth, madly deriving Laplace transforms, and we were always afriad he would get so excited he would fall out the window. NOBODY missed a class.

Try THAT with powerpoint.

By: Peter Coles

Peter Coles — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:28:50 +0000

If you’re worried about getting chalk dust on your clothes the obvious solution is not to wear any. I’m sure that would also increase attendance at your lectures.

By: kyllaros

kyllaros — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 05:54:00 +0000

One of my best physics classes was a Stat Mech class where the professor made the notes for the semester available at the beginning of the course (bought from the university printer). He encouraged everyone to buy the notes, and pretty much everyone did. The notes were good enough that it was nearly verbatim what he said in class. At first I felt like I should be taking notes, but after a while, I just learned how to annotate parts that confused me. The class was much more productive than normal – all of us actually listened to understand during the class and people asked questions when the didn’t understand.