The classroom is incomplete without a blackboard, one of my earliest memories of being at school is seeing the big board covering one part of the classroom wall to wall.

When we think of school we focus on the teacher and the students, what about the blackboard that is a tool that makes it possible for us to learn something new everyday.

Nowadays, technology has changed everything, especially in the last two years with the ongoing pandemic, students being unable to attend school they were forced to study online.

Things are returning to normal gradually, students have returned to school and hopefully there will be less dependence on the use of technology as a means of learning.

The blackboard is no longer a blackboard with white chalk used for writing in the real sense of the word, it comes in different colours such as green, there are whiteboards, we can use a marker and the board is not fixed to the wall, it can be moved according to the classroom requirements.

It is important to note that with all the advances in technology, the blackboard is still relevant as a tool of communication because it works both ways, it makes it possible to learn and understand information in an effective manner.

When a teacher wants to understand if a student has understood a particular concept, he will call the student and ask them to write the answer on the board.

This is helpful because it not only allows the teacher to find out if they have been successful in communicating with the students, it will help other students to get a better understanding of the subject.

During my schooling days, there were many teachers who had a habit of making notes on the board and let the students write down in their notebooks, I know that everyone will not agree, I found this method of teaching useful as a tool for learning.

There were some teachers who would dictate to the students and we had to take down the notes, this type of teaching did not work for me because I would be making notes without really understanding the subject matter.

The blackboard is a handy tool because it can be used to illustrate concepts with examples, drawings, equations etc. that makes it easier for the teacher to get their message across to the students.

There are some subjects like geography and mathematics where the blackboard is essential because it makes it easier to understand places on a map or different types of mathematical equations that cannot be understood by oral explanation.

It is not easy to attend a class where there is a lot of theory, it becomes boring and students lose interest in the subject, this is where the blackboard makes a difference because it makes it possible for the teacher and the students to interact and ask questions that clears one's doubts and get a better understanding of the subject.

Nowadays, online learning is done with apps, I was surprised to learn there is an app called blackboard, the reality is that nothing can replace the reusable physical blackboard that is used in classrooms and hopefully will still be used in future.