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My mother-in-law, born in the 1960s, remembers classrooms filled with chalkboards and rows of desks. Teachers relied heavily on chalk for everything, from writing out math problems to spelling words. Students copied notes all day long, and neat handwriting was a big focus. She said it was simple and cheap, but it left everyone covered in chalk dust by the end of the day. Even though it felt very old fashioned, it gave students a sense of routine and discipline, and even helped with memorization

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1970s – The Magic of Overhead Projectors

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1970s – The Magic of Overhead Projectors

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In the 1970s, my mother-in-law’s schools started using overhead projectors. Teachers wrote on clear plastic sheets, and the words lit up across the classroom wall. She said it felt modern compared to chalk, and it was easier for students to follow along since everything was bigger and clearer. She remembered teachers stacking transparencies for complicated lessons, which made it feel interactive at the time. Out of all the tools from her school days, she liked overhead projectors best because they kept lessons neat and organized.

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By the 1980s, when my mother-in-law was finishing college, typewriters and early computers were appearing in classrooms. She remembers learning to type on a typewriter, which was noisy and unforgiving if you made mistakes. Later, she saw her first computer lab with big, clunky machines that could only do basic word processing. She said it felt intimidating at first, but exciting, since it was the beginning of a huge shift in how people would work and learn. For her, typewriters taught real-world skills, while the computers gave a glimpse of what was coming next.

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My older sister, born in 1990, said the highlight of school in the 1990s was walking with her class to the computer lab. The desktops were huge and slow, taking forever to boot up, but the games made it worth the wait. Typing drills, Oregon Trail, and Math Blaster were class favorites. She also remembered saving homework on floppy disks, which felt hightech at the time, but losing one usually meant starting over from scratch. She laughed about how every student had at least one “floppy disk disaster” story. Despite the frustrations, she said computers made school feel more modern compared to just using notebooks and pencils.

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2000s – Goodbye Chalk, Hello Smartboards

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2000s – Goodbye Chalk, Hello Smartboards

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By the 2000s, when my sister was in middle and high school, her classrooms were getting Smart boards, something i even remember being introduced to in my kindergarten classroom in 2005. She said the first time she saw one, it felt futuristic compared to just a normal whiteboard. teachers could pull up websites, highlight text, or even move pictures around the screen. Students loved being called up to solve problems on the board since it felt more hands on than copying notes. But she also remembered how often they glitched, sometimes the pens wouldn’t match the writing on the board, and other times the whole system froze. Even with the flaws, she thought it was pretty innovative of the time. By the time she graduated in 2007, Smartboards were becoming the norm in most of her classes.

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My niece, born in 2009, started school in the 2010s when tablets and Google Classroom were becoming the standard. She said she rarely used heavy textbooks because most of her assignments and lessons were online. Group projects were easier since students could share Google Docs, and homework could be submitted instantly. She liked using tablets because they felt lighter and more fun than carrying around books. At the same time, she admitted it was sometimes distracting because kids could easily switch to games if teachers weren’t watching closely

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In the 2020s, my niece’s school moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic. She remembers logging into Zoom classes from the couch at home. She said it was nice not having to commute, but it also made it harder to stay focused when classmates turned off their cameras or the internet lagged. Despite the challenges, she said it kept everyone connected and learning when in-person school wasn’t possible. Now, she notices teachers using newer tools like AI apps for assignments, which she finds both exciting and a little weird compared to traditional learning. For her, it feels like technology is shaping every part of school in ways older generations never imagined.