1. BOARD
BOARD BASICS
We have come a long way from the individual chalk slates held by individual students in a
one-room school house with dirt floors, a choking pot-bellied stove, curtain-less windows,
and one person knowledgeable enough to teach manifold subject range to a class of all ages
packed into one room.
Blackboard learning was one of the first tools (after hundreds of years of sticks in the dirt
learning, etc.) that had a particular educational appeal. That is, blackboard learning was and
is still effective as a visual aid for visual learners, those in the largest learning style group
of all.
When using traditional boards keep in mind the following board basics.
• Your students should have a clear, uninterrupted view of the board. Be careful that
you don't block learners sitting at the sides of the room. When you write something
on the board move away quickly so that students can see what you have written.
• Especially with classes of Young Learners you need to develop the ability to write
on the board with eyes in the back of your head. Don't turn your back on the class
for too long. Good teachers have the ability to write on the board while still keeping
a sharp eye on their students!
• Write clearly on the board and make sure that you have written words/text big
enough for everyone to see from the back of the class. With chalk and blackboard
make sure that you wash the board often so that the writing stays clear. With a
whiteboard make sure that the pen you are using is in a colour that everyone can
read - black or blue are best.
• Practice writing in straight lines across the board, particularly if you have students
who are not used to Roman script. In some languages letters may look slightly
different or handwriting styles may be different. Point out the differences to your
students and make sure they can read clearly what you have written.
• Check what you write as you write. Many students have visual memories so we
must be careful about accuracy of spelling and grammar, especially if we intend
students to copy it down in their notebooks to learn.
• Check with your students that they are ready for you to clean the board. If you are
waiting for some students to finish copying or doing an exercise don't leave the
others twiddling their thumbs. Ask them to make a personalized example or start the
warm-up for the next exercise orally.

2. Organizing your board
If your board is messy and untidy then what your students write in their notebooks will be
messy too.
• It is a good idea to divide your board into sections. Have one part for use during the
lesson which can be cleaned off and re-used. Use another part for important
information which can stay there for the whole lesson. For example, you could write
up a list of the basic aims/activities for the lesson so that your students know what is
coming. Tick items off as they are achieved during the class. At the end you can
review the lesson aims for students to evaluate what they have learnt.
• For older learners you could write up other important information - key grammar
points or vocabulary needed for the lesson, or test dates etc. With Very Young
Learners it is better to write this kind of information at the top of the board. Leave
the lower part empty for you and the students to write on. Remember they probably
won't be able to reach the top half of the board.
What we can do with the board
We can use the board in many ways in the classroom, not just for writing up new
vocabulary. You can use your board for giving instructions, reinforcing oral instructions.
For example, just writing up the page number and the exercise on the board in a large class
saves a lot of repetition! When doing group work or project work use the board to organise
your class - write up a list of who is doing what in each group.
• You can write up messages, exercises, short texts or items for correction from oral
activities. Colored chalks or pens are very useful for writing up dialogue parts.
• Use your board to provide records of new words, structures, how a word is used. Or
brainstorm new vocabulary with the class in a spidergram. With more advanced
classes you can provide a record of a class discussion, or give help with planning for
writing e.g. for exam tasks.
Displaying
You can use the large surface of your board to display all sorts of items - posters, pictures
and flashcards. Use large pictures for class oral work but have students come out to the
board to point to or talk about various items. Magazine pictures can be used for a variety of
oral activities. Flashcards can be used for many games apart from simple matching
activities.
• Try to encourage students to come out to the board to choose, select, order or
describe pictures. All of these will make your classroom more interactive and avoid
too much teacher talking time.

3. • You can display other items such as authentic materials - e.g. maps, adverts, photos,
as well as learners' own work. Remember that you don't have to stick to the board.
• You could display items around the room, particularly if they are not large enough
for the whole class to see at the front. Ask your students to move around and look at
the materials.
Playing games
We can play many different games using just the board. Teachers need a repertoire of board
games as warmers, fillers or lesson-ending activities which require no preparation.
• Apart from the traditional games of hangman, and noughts and crosses (answering
questions for O or X) you can play many others.
• ‘Pictogram' can be played with all levels (Draw a picture and guess the word). With
younger learners spelling races are very popular.
• Word games are an excellent way of settling classes and revising vocabulary. Use
anagrams or jumbled sentences or for Very Young Learners words with missing
vowels.
Using visuals
You don't have to be a genius at drawing to use pictures and drawings with your students.
In fact, the worse the drawings are .. the more fun! Try to master basic stick men and faces
with expressions, especially if your students are young learners.
• Drawing pictures is an essential skill for explaining texts and stories to our students.
Practise story-telling with basic pictures on the board. Remember you can ask your
students out to the board to draw too - this is a fun activity at whatever level. You
can create picture stories with your students and use these for further oral or written
work.
• Other visuals which are useful to draw are large-scale pictures such as maps, a plan
of a town, a plan of a house/school/new building etc. These could be used with stick
on cut outs to provide a wealth of language practice.
Final tips
Try to make your board as interactive as possible.
• Ask students to come out to draw, write, present or even work. You could allow one
group to work at the board when doing a group task.
• Use your board as support for your voice - to give instructions, examples and
feedback.

4. • You can use board activities as an aid to discipline - settle a noisy class for example
by giving a quick copying exercise or word game. Write a child's name up on the
board if they are talking too much instead of just telling them off.
• Your board is an organizational tool too. Use it as a memory store for things to do
or keep you on track with a lesson. Remember the more organized you are on your
board, the more organized your students will be too.
BOARD EVOLUTION
With visual learning styles outnumbering verbal, kinesthetic, sensing, intuitive, and other
less frequently extant styles, blackboard learning has been augmented by educators using
slide shows, reel-to-real films projected onto pull-down screens, DVD materials, and
computer hardware and software presentation tools.
Blackboard learning went through a revolutionary (or evolutionary) change when
whiteboards with erasable markers and easels, presentation pads, and markers were thought
to enhance the learning experience. But the internet changed traditional blackboard learning
for good.
Without eliminating it as a tool that continues to be effective for a majority of learners, the
net capabilities and resources spawned a new kind of learning tool--distance learning.
Actually these facilities have not really created a new tool (as distance learning has existed
for hundreds of years) and they have not replaced effective learning/teaching strategies.
These technological advances have enhanced and supplemented and made more available
and accessible blackboard learning. In fact, one online system is called the Blackboard
Learning System--one which allows learners to study in a virtual classroom, watching the
classroom lectures and sessions by closed-circuit and other media online; which enables
continued learning by chat, email, and forum discussion with peers and tutors; which
administers and requires online testing; and which provides supplemental materials such as
Quicktime movies, downloadable video-recorded lectures, and numerous interactive
software systems. Blackboard learning isn't going anywhere. It is instead going through
exponentially enhanced phases that enhance the learning experience for all.
Source:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/using-board
http://agonist.org/LearningCenter/education/traditionalblackboardlearningtotheumpteenthpower.ht
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