Tuesday, 21 October 2008

Teaching Aid - dry erase markers, whiteboard


I'm always looking for additional colours to use on the whiteboard in my Maths lessons. I find colour a great way to help illustrate the actions to take in each step of a problem solving method.



Until recently, I had only Red, Blue, Black, and Green at my disposal. I then found a Pink and Purple.



This Expo set has 16 colours to choose from. My students now participate in the lesson far more by requesting which colour to use next. They are Thai students learning English, so it helps explain the maths, AND helps them practice colour names at the same time.



The colours are very bright and bold. The most effective colours I find are orange, brown, and the darker reds, blues, and greens.

The only colour that does not work too well is the yellow, it's a bit too light to be seen from even just a few feet away. If it were made slighly darker I think it would be perfect.



This set has the chisel points, which add a great effect to writing, and give a nice sharp point for precision work if needed.



In all, an excellent addition to my teaching tools. I'm very happy with them. Expo Low Odor Chisel Tip Dry Erase Markers, 16 Colored Markers

The product description says "Aqua, Black, Blue, Brown, Forest Green, Green, Orange, Pink, Plum, Purple, Red, Turquoise, Yellow", but there was no 'Yellow'. What I got is more close to the picture ... instead of two pinks in the picture there were two dark blues.

I usually only buy Expo Markers but bought Amazon's Board Dudes 2-in-1 Double-Sided Dry Erase Markers (42402BDUA-24) and found almost half of the pens dry and not working. So I went back to Expo. I haven't tried all of the colors, but two of the green tips and a blue tip started breaking and becoming really soft. The felt was ruined after writing about a sentence. All the other Expo markers I have used keep their shape, even after about four years, but these didn't. I am pretty disappointed. I would also like to let you know that the colors aren't the same as the one in the picture, there are two reds, blacks, greens, and blues, and the rest were a different variety.

If you're having trouble erasing, try the Expo cleaner. I always assumed it was a marketing scam, but tried it on a whim and I'm amazed at how much better it works than Windex I used to use. I don't know what's so special about it -- I'm sure it's something you could research and make yourself -- but it solved my erasing issues, especially on walls painted with the "new fangled" whiteboard paint which don't erase as well as regular whiteboards. I agree that the low-odor markers don't erase as well but with the cleaner, both types clean off.



If the cleaner doesn't work, you may just have a worn-out board. I'm serious, they wear out. Check the boards sold at office supply stores and notice they sell differently-priced boards based on light, moderate, or heavy use.



In my experience, if you're using whiteboard paint, then then cleaner is a *must have* to avoid ghosting, etc. - Marker - Dry Erase Markers - Whiteboard - Dry Erase'


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Teaching Aid - dry erase markers, whiteboard marker Teaching Aid - dry erase markers, whiteboard