Spending virtually all of my time around a couple of growing children is something which somehow always manages to quell any feelings of me missing my teaching days. I mean I do at times miss a lot of aspects of what the teaching profession exposes one to, but it’s become so hard to imagine putting in all those hours to get lessons ready in addition to the lessons themselves. Not to mention all the marking and grading.
Zoning-in on all the prep work that goes into planning lessons and other classroom activities however, naturally I’m still in-tune with the ins-and-outs of teaching, since a lot of my former colleagues are indeed still good friends of mine. I do help out one or two of them with some marking and lesson-planning at times, albeit rather reluctantly since I’m not really getting paid for “my time.” Nevertheless, what comes into focus as perhaps part of a set of teaching tools the modern-day teacher can’t quite do without are Teacherboard’s Combination Boards, particularly if used together with or complementary to Glassboards from the same manufacturer.
I used earlier versions of these from different manufacturers and it amazes me now just how far their development has been taken by the likes of Teacherboards. Clearly this is more than just a brand name growing in popularity — their combo boards and glassboards seem to be solidifying their place as the preferred “teacher boards.”
Well my own creativity was soon confirmed to be a little bit rusty and all covered with dust when in addition to what my kids can do with these I sneaked a peek of what some of my former colleagues are doing with combo boards and glassboards in their classrooms. There’s just so much one can do with them, but I guess if you’re specifically reading a review about “teacher boards” you’d appreciate some technical specifications, so here goes:
You’ll perhaps be paying just few pence more for these Techerboards glassboards and the multi-coloured ones in the combo set, but that’s just a few pence more for a lot more quality. They feel strong in the hands which is an indication of their quality, but in the specific case of the multi-coloured combo units, versatility is the ultimate name of the game! They’re compatible with Velcro and so can be mounted just about anywhere, in any way you see fit. The colours include pink, lime, orange, yellow and turquoise, but that’s perhaps just a variation meant for presentation purposes because the glossy dry-wipe surface quite clearly displays whatever you write or pin. They’re pinnable as well, which extends their uses.
In the case of the glassboards (if I’m to momentarily separate their use from the combo boards), these simply serve as the perfect alternative to those dry-wipe whiteboards which have been traditionally used for quite some time. The writing surface is great and along with the combination boards, the visual impact of what’s being displayed is unmatched.
If I was still a teacher I’d hide some of these away from my kids at home, but we all thoroughly enjoy using them without even noticing at times.