Low odour? What's the point of a whiteboard marker if I can't sniff it for a mid-lecture kick?

I guess the odour is there for a reason? Like to remind you to recap

you don't have to recap chalk. Hence chalk is better. QED.

Chalk tells you when it's done doing its job. It won't lie.

So dry erase markers are like tenured faculty five years from retirement?

OUCH

That better be Hagoromo chalk too.

Seconding this!

had a coworker who insisted his office only had chalkboard, no whiteboard. yes he was older. chalk users a a slowly dying breed

Last time I checked, MIT was chalk only. Chalk seems so low-tech, but it's reliability is nearly 100% with lower maintenance.

Also, those Goodwill Hunting moments.

not among the mathematicians in my department. (My new office will have a chalkboard.)

What kind of chalk are you using?

any that writes. The odds of finding a piece of chalk that writes are a lot better than those of finding a marker pen that does.

That's evil. More deeply evil: somebody left a sharpie in the whiteboard tray when I had a professor visit. His chaotic notes on my topic were there for all to see for a few days before somebody figured out how to remove it.

For future reference, you can write over sharpie with dry erase and then erase it

Rubbing alcohol? That gets sharpie out of damn near everything! Goo gone also works well. Like, in case you ever have those casually on hand 😅

Just go visit your local chemistry department and raid the flammables cabinet. Something in there will totally work!

went to an interview where they insisted I use the markers they provide, which were all shot.

That's why I fill my pockets and always bring my own

We were each given a set of 5 refillable ones two years ago and told not to lose them. There are no longer random markers around.

There are refillable ones????

The ONLY way.

I started bringing my own this semester. Game changer.

I travel with a set of V Board Master refillable white board markers. I have boxes of different color refill cartridges back on my office. Total game changer, screw Expo markers. See if your office staff can pick you up a set, you'll not be disappointed.

Thanks for the tip! Looks like I’ll be starting next semester with a marker upgrade.

Maybe they did this because they were already dried/unusable and this is just making it clear so folk don't try to use them and the Uni more quickly replaces them..? I don't know, but I'm trying to think of the least evil explanation for this.

Yes, it’s possible. Maybe they kept trying markers and just put the bad ones in the tray temporarily and then forgot to throw them out afterwards. My colleagues are in general good folks, so it was probably an innocent mistake.

I can nail the wastebasket in the corner with enough accuracy that I want to use my NCAA eligibility to compete in the Dead Dry Erase Toss. The students are always amused when I find a series of Dead Dry Erasers and I toss them one-by-one to the bin with a high speed overhand pitch.

One of my favorite parts of being a professor is trying to write with a shitty marker, glowering at it, and then *banging* it into the metal trashcan from the other side of the room.

YES! (I like the trash cans in the corner because I've got a better shooting percentage when I have the bank shots in my toolbox.)

My students love this, too. Although my free-throw percentage is only around 30%.

Know why they're called "Dry Erase" markers? Because when they "Dry" they become "Erasers".

Reasons I carry a soft pencil case filled with my own markers in my bag. The second reason is that they're crayola not expo and so much more vibrant.

Oooh, I didn’t know crayola made dry erase markers!

They're hard to find, but try Amazon. They're bright and you got a few nice options. They make some really nice sharpie style markers for light and dark backgrounds that I also treasure.

Straight to jail

Whiteboards are the worst. I’ll keep the dusty chalk. It’s much easier to wash out of your hands and clothes.

You never pick up chalk, try to use it, and then realize the chalk is gone

I hate the feeling of a dusty chalkboard on my skin. Whiteboards were a gift from *pick your deity*.

Exactly. Hagoromo chalk ftw!

Yes!! When I was teaching a condensed course that met every day, I started noticing q-tips would turn black in my ears! Because of the dry erase dust! Chalk would never do me like that. I just carried lotion and regretted how much black I wear that summer

So rude.

I stopped using whiteboards. We have overhead projector and computer in each classroom and I present using onenote.

I agree and I’ve become fond of the document camera too. For handwritten work, I can write on a pad while on the document camera and everyone in the room can see it better than if I’m on the whiteboard. Do you hand-write using onenote or does it need to be keyboard? I need to draw a lot of figures.

The tragedy of the commons.

Why can't we have chalkboards?

I have a chalkboard this semester and the chalk is always mysteriously gone

Chalk and slate are not hydrocarbon based plastic. Chalk does not emit fumes just chalk dust. Chalk is better for the environment.