Bring Back the Chalkboards? Maybe not

I’m reading Tools for Teaching by Frank Jones, for next year. Currently I’m in Chapter 8. He is describing leaning math by the whole class being at the chalk board doing the math problems at the same time. Then he bemoans the fact that the chalkboards had been removed from his old school.

He seems stuck on this is the best and only way to do this activity. I can see another way of doing it that gives the timid learners a little shelter, but still allows for that everyone is learning and teacher can see what is going on modality. Students having slates they can write large numbers teacher can see what they are doing easily. Add Quizdom – and you have instant feed back on what the students are doing and thinking.