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1564
The Pencil
The pencil has a long history that dates to 1564. But it wan't mass produced until 1900. -
Horn Book
The horn book was a wooden paddle with lessons printed on it. Usually, it had an alphabet and a religious verse, which children would copy to learn how to write. -
Magic Lantern
The magic lantern projected images printed on glass plates onto walls. By the end of World War 1, Chicago's public schools had about 8.000 lantern slides. -
Chalkboard
A chalkboard is a dark-coloured board that you can write on with chalk. Chalkboards are often used by teachers in the classroom. -
Overhead Projector
The overhead projector allowed teachers to write specific points on reusable transparency sheets while facing the class, as opposed to turning their back to the class when writing on the blackboard. At the end of World War Two the U.S. Army started using overhead projectors for training and their use became common for lecturing. -
Mimeograph
One of the first copy machines, the mimeograph allowed teachers and school staff to print copies of class materials. All you had to do was crank the ink filled drum. -
Headphones
Headphones offered a way to reinforce ideas and class materials. Not just for music, they gave schools a chance to create language labs where students studied foreign languages. -
Videotape
This tech allowed schools to offer visual and audio learning to students. Once only still frames, these tapes created a movie theatre like setting. Later on, teachers would use them to show documentaries and films. -
The Scantron
The Scranton is a system of testing. It allowed teachers to grade multiple choice tests in a more efficient way. -
CD ROM Drive
With a CD ROM Drive, one was able to save a whole encyclopedia on one disk. That is one of the many reasons it eventually took over for floppy disks. -
Interactive Whiteboard
The interactive whiteboard is handy digital tool. They use a touch sensitive screen, projector, and computer. Much like the chalkboard and overhead projector that came before. -
Tablets
Tablets came after the smartphone. Unlike mobile phones, their use as a learning tool has more teachers on board. Above all since there are educational apps that engage and motivate learners.