Experts, scientists and professors have always agreed that children learn far quicker and in more detail with what they see, rather than just listening to what the teacher says.

For people old enough to remember poor quality blackboards and the teacher’s embarrassing chalky writing, the step into interactive whiteboards for schools is as effective for children’s learning as when Velcro was used by the NASA scientists for astronauts going to the moon.

Blackboards and chalk just don’t work

The difference between writing with chalk on a blackboard and using today’s whiteboards in schools is obvious when perhaps this is compared to the first time a person wears glasses and realises what they couldn’t see or focus on before.

Unfortunately, a by-product of chalk, which is made of a mineral called gypsum, is the powder that gradually fills a room and has been found to be a substantial irritant to both teacher’s and student’s respiratory systems.

Blackboards were never that easy to write on and could never replicate the simplicity of using a pen or pencil on paper.

Wiping off the writing wasn’t an easy task either and the student selected by the teacher to clean the board usually ended up with as much dust all over them and their clothing as was previously found on the board.

Conversely, whiteboards are extremely easy to work with. Teachers and students find them trouble-free to write on and they are easy to clean when the writing needs to be removed.

Plus, with the facility to save the information written on a whiteboard to a student’s individual computer, it gives them the opportunity to revisit the work later so they can complete their homework easier and with more understanding.

Helping your children see the right things

Parents, guardians, teachers and virtually everybody else on the planet show children how to react. They see your attitudes and how you criticise.

For example, if you make inappropriate comments about a person that is overweight, you’re teaching them that those comments are acceptable rather than making appropriate comments where the child can be understanding of the situation, but also learn that being healthy and fit, where possible, is still the desired outcome.

Adults and older children show younger children how to react to a whole range of circumstances and without meaning to, show how bullying and controlling people can become part of everyday life.

A map of the world drawn on a blackboard may not particularly resemble the shapes and countries seen in a book of the same continents and could therefore give the wrong impression to the student. However, a version sent to a whiteboard as part of modern ICT for schools will show an exact, visual replication of countries, major towns, cities, rivers and topography.

Children can see their work come alive on a whiteboard which is particularly useful as they are exploring their creativity and understanding of a subject. They can work on a whiteboard with confidence whatever the result.

The simple fact is, whilst blackboards did once work to a certain extent, interactive whiteboards have long since replaced them and they’re almost guaranteed to enhance the learning experience in a variety of different ways.