Anachronism

Since I work on a college campus I get to see a variety of different technologies put to use in all sorts of classrooms. Interactive whiteboards, iPads, 3D printers, mobile instructional robots (seriously, it's kind of weird), but sometimes I forget that it's the tried-and-true methods that can be the most effective. The other day my coworker asked if I would come with her to a classroom to investigate an issue with the interactive whiteboard, and I was struck to see this chalkboard sitting a few feet away from thousands of dollars of computer technology. But more than that, it looked like it had been used recently for actual classroom instruction. It took me back a little bit, to a simpler time when education wasn't as flashy or interactive but somehow a little more comfortable or, possibly, homely. I don't know that things were better with chalkboards, slates, or even stone tablets, but a part of me was glad to see that things like this still remain at least somewhat useful and