The End of Blackboards

When I was in second grade the reward for good behavior was to clean out the chalkboard erasers. We'd be good all day just so that we could go outside and bang the erasers together and get chalk dust all over ourselves and have a great time doing it. Well, it seems that the days of cleaning out the erasers are nearing their end. As if whiteboards weren't enough, new giant, touch-sensitive computer screens are replacing the beloved (or not so beloved depending on how much nails on chalkboards annoys you) chalkboards. Interactive whiteboards is probably a better name for them since they are essentially a whiteboard attached to a computer that can work as a screen.

"It helps kids build the big picture and learn the meaning of almost anything," Bang [a teacher] said. "If a kid wants to research boats they can do a PowerPoint presentation, a Word document or they can do a movie or slide show to show to the whole class."

It seems that the reward for good behavior is now being able to watch Black Beauty on the board rather than cleaning the erasers. I have a few reservations about these boards. I know and understand and love that we live in an interactive culture/generation, but it seems like these boards could be used to weaken education. Let me explain. I used to hate doing book reports, but they were good for me because they made me read, write and think about a book and its meaning. It seems to me (and I accept all possibility that I'm wrong here) that a PowerPoint presentation isn't quite as all encompassing as having to actually write a report. Sure you have to think about the book and doing a good presentation is still dependent on you reading the book, but you don't get the benefit of having to write -- using good grammar and spelling. Powerpoint, iMovie, and Google are wonderful tools, but I don't think they should be used at the expense of critical writing and reflection. It's possible that these students still have to write out book reports, I think it would be a shame if they didn't. Ultimately my issue isn't so much with the board as it is with how we're teaching these kids to think --short-term instantaneous gratification skills or long-term critical thinking skills. I welcome the boards as a future teacher, simply because I can't write on a board to save my life. I guess it's all in how you use them.