Hey, Camp Kids!
You may assume Chalkboards have been around for as long as school entirely! Teaching without a Chalkboard would be pretty difficult, wouldn’t it? Well, that’s how it was for a long time. Students used to have their own small slates and the teacher would have to stop by every seat to write down a math problem or some other question on each student's slate. Teaching was much more tedious back then.
Chalkboards, also referred to as Blackboards, have actually only been around
for a brief blip in the history of education—since 1801 to be specific. It didn’t take long before every classroom had a Chalkboard in it.
Until the Whiteboard came along…
Yes, even younger than the Blackboard, the Whiteboard has taken its place and Replaced Chalkboards on the walls of elementary, high school, and college classrooms as well as offices in the workplace. The Whiteboard, which also goes by the name of Dry-Erase Board, is a glossy and typically white surface. Much like the Chalkboard, Dry-Erase Boards are ready to hold markings of the non-permanent variety and can be wiped away.
Made of steel with a coating of enamel fused onto it, Whiteboards were invented and made commercially available in the early 1960s. They didn’t catch too much interest, however, for another 30 years. For whatever reason, their popularity suddenly skyrocketed, landing Dry-Erase Boards on many walls of meeting rooms, offices, classrooms, and other workplaces.
They started showing up on the doors of college dorm rooms for friends to leave quick messages when you’re not around. You’ll find them on refrigerator doors for an inventory on food and other family notes.
Two men have been credited with the invention of the Whiteboard and the mystery remains of who it truly was. Maybe they both had the brilliant idea independent of one another. The first inventor is a Korean War veteran and photographer named Martin Heit. The other is Albert Stallion, an employ at an enameled steel production company called Alliance.
Check out the Dry-Erase Board we have available from Three Cheers for Girls here at Everything Summer Camp when you click right here. And, as always, thanks for reading!
- John