Has it ever occurred to you that a classroom staple as iconic as the chalkboard could be reinvented over time? Believe it or not, the shifting landscape of education has been undergoing substantial changes since some of its earliest inceptions. Early 17th century classrooms quickly brought forth a number of unexpected innovations in areas as simple as the writing utensil, and the tail end of the 19th century was topped off by the revolutionary introduction of the “must have” chalkboard.
It’s difficult to imagine a time where schools lacked something as simple as a pencil, but the 20th century kicked off with the introduction of the convenient and money saving writing tool, and things only got more innovative from there. From experimental radio broadcasts to old standbys like the overhead projector and handheld calculator, the classroom has served as an arena for some of the most effective and widely used innovations in modern times. Check out our historical infographic down below to see how the humble beginnings of classroom innovation rapidly made its way from simple tools to the technological prowess of the smartboard.
