Information, Education and communication: Flannel Board


What?

This teaching tool is called by different names:

Visual Board
Frick Board
Slap Board
Felt Board
Coherograph
Videograph

The tool consists of only two Parts - a board covered with flannel and objects having fluzzy and napped backing.

The principle involved is the inter1ooking of fibres of two rough or bairy surfaces, so that the pieces pressed on to a background which is hard and vertical will stay. It can be illustrated on a larger scale by pressing two tooth brushes or hair brushes together, so the bristle inter-1ook. In case of flannel graph similar principle of friction helps an object to cling to the surface of the board.

Advantages:

  1. Permits numerous and varied arrangements of visua1 materials.
  2. Is appealing, because the audience is fascinated in watching the steps in the presentation.
  3. Permits the development of a complete story.
  4. Permits the use of either chart or small pieces of material.
  5. Promotes conscientious planning, which must precede the development of the material in the first place.
  6. Challenges one to develop symbols to portray such things as abstractions.
  7. Materials can be packed and transported.
  8. Permits use of various colors, which may be used for specific purposes.
  9. Materials can be left on board after meeting closes for those who wish more complete notes.
  10. Is effective because it permits two techniques for delivering a message, word of mouth-sound and symbols or pictures-sight.
  11. Easier to construct materials for flannel board than to make slides or movies.
  12. Speaker works in front of his audience in well-lighted surroundings.
  13. Chronological development of ideas on board promotes ease in note taking.
  14. After symbols are developed they can quite easily be used in constructing attractive designs.


Disadvantages:

  1. Transportation and storing of boards and materials is a problem.
  2. Suitable tables to support boards must be available.
  3. Time and cost of making material for presentation present a problem.
  4. Cost of boards themselves can't be overlooked.
  5. Presentation is limited a new idea involves a lapse of time before the new material can be added.
  6. Might tend to deter one from using other more effective methods and techniques when it is evident that other methods might be more appropriate.
  7. To tell a complete story it often takes either too much board space Or smaller designs and materials some of which cannot be seen well.
  8. Requires considerable ingenuity and imagination to construct effective varied materials.
  9. Materials must be attractively prepared.
Why?

Great interest is aroused when colourful cut=outs stay on the board without the use of any glue, tacks or staples to hold these symbols and pictures. If the flannel is good, the teacher can just flick the illustration on the board where it stays as if by magic. This medium provides ample opportunities to present properly the material without losing the sequence. It increases effectiveness and enables the teacher to remember more of the details. By the dramatic association of pictures and symbols supplemented by teacher commentary, learning interest is heightened and difficult concepts are made easy. It can be used by both the teachers as well the pupils, for teaching and learning various skills such as reading, telling stories, giving reports and demonstration etc.
Its appeal is in the action and suspense in a way, it is like a drama. It has a story or a plot. It has background or set. It has parts that move about like characters. Like a drama its characters unfold the story before Our eyes. The action of moving characters attracts our attention and the suspense of the unfolding story holds our interest.

Exposition is based on teaching:

  1. Simplification:
    It shows the ability of the teacher to reach his pupils men.
  2. Applification:
    It connotes the ingenuity of the teacher to reach his pupil physically. The power of observation is enlarged through amplification.
  3. Dramatisation:
    Just as simplification of an idea helps to reach the learn is mentally, amplification helps to reach them physically, dramatisation helps the teacher to reach them emotionally. Emotions are powerful motors in human machinery.

    Not only teachers but even physiotherapists who are interested in simple equipment that can be changed frequently and easily have found flannel graph as an excellent tool. The patients need no drawing pinson glue or staples to hold the symbols and the pictures.

    Flannelgraph can also find a place in the waiting rooms, reception halls and museums where a topical, current and attract display is wanted.

    In teaching, the use of flannel graph can be made simple as well as elaborate. It may be used to illustrate a difficult point which needs quite a build-up on the board or to highlight a lecture or a speech. Teachers may use it as a means of demonstrating arrangement, to extend concepts and establish visual proof, to provide opportunities in building associations, to enhance dramatic story telling, to stimulate creative expression, to afford means of studying relationships, to provide simple presentation of complicated ideas, to summaries the lesson or the unit and to provide visual type of individual practices. Thus it is almost unrovalled in its use.


Some characteristics of Flanne1 Board:

  1. Visual:
    It visualizes theoretical ideas.
    It helps to recreate situations involving motions.
    It visualizes dimensions and colour.
    It helps to recreate part.
  2. Audio:
    It creates events through dramatisation.
    It recreates environment.
  3. Utilization:
     It permits any sequence or arrangement.
    It permits restudy.
    It Permits discussion.
    It can be produced locally.


How to use?

The technique of using an effective teaching tool is simply the technique of making an experience educationally significant. A pre-requisite of every teaching aid is the design of exposition. This design must have organisation and arrangement of ideas, facts and events in a purposeful order. Dewey said "Essential experience has unity". So it is very essential to have proper lay-out prepared and then presented effectively keeping in a view the following simple principles of teaching.

  1. Outline what you want to say.
  2. Plan the lay-out keeping in view the principles of teaching.
  3. Arrange the materials in such a way that they lend themselves best to illustrate what you want to say.
  4. Try the lay-out to see that it fits the space on the flannelboard.
  5. Place the flannel board at eye level and at a slightly inclined angle. Lighting should also be checked.
  6. Use a minimum number of objects to let the students focus their eyes on a few items at a time.
Talk to the class as much as possible but not to the board.

Remove the cut-outs from the board as soon as you have finished talking about them and place the next cut-outs in position. It is better to have the interest focussed on one or two cut-outs than to have the attention wandering back to the il1ustrations already discussed. In case of story telling or developing a chart, however, the characters might be left on the board.

Material for Flannel Board

Nearly all things become visual with the flannelboard. Any light weight and flat material can be prepared to adhere on a flannelboard. The nap of the flannelboard with hold the nap of another piece of flannel placed against it as their fibres inter look. There is a variety of such materials which may be attached to flannelboard without using a sensitized backing: 


Velore                Balsa wool            Duvetyn or twill
Flannel               Hard Wool            Blotting paper
Felt                    Steel wool            Construction paper
Wool                  Velvet                  Sand paper
Khadi                 Corduroy              Flock paper
Cotton                Cellphone            Emery paper
Suede
Therefore, objects, animals, symbols, numbers, characters, letters, words, musical notes, fractions, circles and various geometrical forms can be cut out of these materials.

In case of childrens' drawings, tear sheets, pictures, paper cut-outs, title cards etc. can ; displayed on flannelboards by applying a Sensitized backing. For this purpose strips of sand paper or flock paper, flannel, khadi or velore may be used with advantage.

Constructing Flannel Boards:

Its construction being very simple many teachers would like to make their own boards from the materials which they can get locally and easily. For its preparation three items are needed i.e. backing materials, covering material and fixing material.

Backing Material:

It may be plywood, press-board, massonite, wall-board or heavy card board. It must be firm but not too heavy to carry.

Covering Material:

It may be flannel or valour, suede, Corduroy or khadi. Almost any colour can be used but dark-green, black and grey afford excellent contrast for other colours that may be used in presentation.

Fixing Material:

Rubber cement, tape or staples, nails, thumb tacks, drawing pins etc. can be used to fix the covering material on the board.

Size:

Before preparing the board, the purpose Of using it must be kept in view. If it is used for classroom demonstration it may be 4' x 5'. If the boards are to be used by individual children, relatively small size would do.

Forms and Shapes:

Some of the forms are illustrated here.

Construction:

After selecting the appropriate size, cut the selected cloth to fit the board allowing three inches for overlapping edges.

Stretch the cloth and fasten it tightly with the help of staples or thumb tacks. Be sure that there are no wrinkles on the board because they will cause the material to fall.

In case staples or drawing pins are not available, cloth may be tied with Sulti and needle by catching the edges of the cloth on the back of the board.

In case both sides of the board are to be covered, then two equal pieces of cloth may be cut and the same may be fixed on each side. Three sides may be first sewn and after slipping the board in it the fourth side may be sewn.

Small individual boards may be prepared for children. In nursery classes the top of the biscuit boxes may be covered with flannel or any sensitized material and the box may be used for holding the cut-outs.

Improving Flannel Boards:

A small table or tea-poy may be used with khadi table cover spread on it.

In a village even a standing charpoy with a blanket or a Khadi bed-sheet spread on it may be used.