When Were Chalkboards Invented?
Today's students have become so used to seeing whiteboards, video displays and PowerPoint presentations, chalkboards probably seem like a prop that belongs in the "Little House on the Prairie" display of a museum. But even with all the latest innovations in presentation tools, there's nothing quicker, more reliable or power-efficient than a chalkboard for capturing and conveying information among a group of people.
Other People Are Reading
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Pre-Chalkboard
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Paper and pencils weren't common school supplies in the 1800s and earlier, so students used individual slates made of imported British porcelain or black-painted wood for writing their assignments. Because teachers had no way to convey information to a whole class except verbally, they often had to go around the room and write assignments on each student's slate.
First Chalkboards
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The first chalkboard was made of black slate so it was called a blackboard, and its creation is credited to the Old High School of Edinburgh headmaster James Pillans, who used it to teach geography. The first documented use of a blackboard in the United States was in 1801, when George Baron, an instructor at West Point Military Academy, used one to teach math.
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Indispensible Tool
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Schools that could afford the slate boards had them shipped in by rail, which was making goods more accessible throughout the country. By the mid-1800s, very few classrooms lacked a blackboard and chalk.
Office Use
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Blackboards made their way into offices and research facilities, especially in math and science, because they were so useful in group settings for presenting information, jotting notes and preserving ideas hatched during brainstorming sessions.
Blackboards Become Chalkboards
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In the 1960s, blackboards started being produced in green because it was thought a friendlier color than black and erasures weren't as noticeable. The term "blackboard" no longer applied, so chalkboards were born, made of steel boards coated with porcelain enamel.
Whiteboards
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In the mid-1980s, whiteboards, or dry-erase boards, began appearing in corporate conference rooms. By 2000, nearly one-quarter of all classrooms replaced blackboards with whiteboards to protect computers and children with allergies from chalk dust.
Chalkboards Today
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Chalkboards still are used today, although no longer made of slate. Chalk has evolved as well, becoming less dusty and more colorful. It's also easily washable, toxin-free, won't dry out and lasts longer than whiteboard markers.
Some teachers believe children learn to write neater in chalk because of the friction with the board, compared to using slippery markers on a slick whiteboard.
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