“Back in my days, the chalk powder would form clouds in the classroom as we dusted off the board”. Do you often tell your child how school was in your time, and how different your learning tools were? Now you can show them.
From wooden desks to the old, boxy computers, UAE residents can bring their children along to show them the 1990’s classroom experience, in an exhibition organised by Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
You can once again write on the chalkboard, watch old cartoons with the colours constantly glitching, and insert thick casettes into the video recorder, in the interactive experience located at City Centre Mirdif until August 31.
As the years passed by, the blackboard with white chalk on it soon changed to a whiteboard with black marker on it. Erasing the board did not get so much dust in the air, but it did get a lot of marker on the hands.
Cut to a decade later, the whiteboard changed too. Schools began installing smartboards, powered by technology, marking a dramatic change in what the board could be used for.
No more just a tool for reading and writing, teachers could display educational videos, present power points without having to fiddle with the projector, and administer online quizzes.
Now in 2025, the UAE ushers in yet another era of education, as the country becomes one of the first countries in the world to embed AI education at every stage of a student’s learning journey.
As students started the 2025-26 new academic year, public schools across the UAE introduced AI as a formal subject, taught right from Kindergarten all the way through to Grade 12.
© Khaleej Times
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