As many people know from their childhood, most classrooms consisted of a large black or green chalkboard and green colored tacking surface next to it. Every day one or two lucky children would be asked to stay late and beat the chalk out of the erasers. We later found out that this wasn't such a great idea.

The big change began around 1994-1995. I became ever so apparent that chalk dust was not good for computers. So, at the same time computers were finding their way into schools, whiteboards and dry erase boards began taking the place of the everlasting chalkboard. Chalk creates airborne particles that can easily find it's way into mainframes, monitors and keyboards. This did not bode well for the chalkboard.

The first whiteboard was a melamine or enameled hardboard surface. It was the "perfect" solution to the chalkboard, except that it ghosted in a short time and was not easy to keep clean. The first porcelain-on-steel write-on/ wipe-off magnetic whiteboard, is believed to have been created by Claridge Products. It is appropriately named Liquid Chalk Surface or LCS, which they still use today.

Over the last 10 years, the Porcelain-on-Steel Magnetic Whiteboard has gone through many transformations, most of which are not visible to the naked eye. The surface has gotten much easier to clean. The glare has been reduced. And the cost for the product has become much more affordable. Whether it is new construction or replacement of existing chalkboards the magnetic whiteboard is by far the most popular product used in companies and schools today.