When HN users recommended it
2 HN users recommended this between 2022 and 2023, in 2 comments.
20072026
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
2 HN users recommended this between 2022 and 2023, in 2 comments.
Each tall tick is one HN user's first recommendation. A short tick is the same user again. Click a tick to jump to the comment.
Most of the objections to blackboards or whiteboards can be mitigated by carrying one's own tools. For blackboards, I bring my own Hagoromo chalk [1,2] which has a wonderful touch and is radically less dusty, and several Korean microfiber auto detailing cloths [3]. I use a damp cloth to wipe the board before and after teaching, and a dry cloth as an erasor while teaching. Every month or so, I do a laundry load of all my cloths. I see colleagues in stages I've passed through, such as carrying a sponge, pail, and squeegee, and I've learned to say nothing. If there's a stage I haven't reached yet, however, I'm all ears.
Blackboards themselves also vary in quality; some ceramic surfaces can rival traditional slate. One can't really judge the experience starting with a cheap, dirty board and using institutional chalk and erasers.
I've enjoyed whiteboards in well-funded companies. In academics, it is profoundly embarrassing how often a speaker will have traveled for a lecture, only to find a dirty whiteboard and the local markers dried out. This is why speakers would rather lip-sync to PowerPoint slides. Were I using a whiteboard, I'd also bring my own tools.
Pad and paper is certainly easy, but artists brave serious messes to produce oil pastels for sale. In my case, students are carrying student loans half their lives. I prefer chalk over slides because it forces a live performance. I then share my Notability drawn notes, because they're better.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/HAGOROMO-Fulltouch-Color-Chalk-White/...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Hagoromo-Fulltouch-72pieces-Yellow-Or...
[3] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GXRG64I/
While it's not manufactured by the same company anymore, a Korean company bought the formula and sells it on Amazon now! [0] So, you, too, can see what the hype is all about, if you want! At $0.39 per piece of chalk, it is, indeed, expensive. But, it is also a much different experience from writing with ordinary chalk.
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[0]: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01HDNUXBW