Living in the information age, students have grown up working with computers, cell phones and many other forms of technology. Although some of that technology has been kept out of the classroom, teachers can use various form of technology to help students learn and to assess the progression of their education.

MyMathLab
Math teachers are known for their reluctance to accept new technology and desire to cling to the proven, effective, yet old-fashioned methods of using pen, paper and a calculator. Pearson Education's MyMathLab is an online program that gives students homework assignments, tests and quizzes. Assignment content comes from the Pearson textbooks, but assignments can be customized by the teacher. The online exams are useful for pretesting students before a unit begins, assessing progress throughout the semester and assessing the overall effectiveness of the course at the end of the semester. The daily homework assignments allow the student to get help right away if he does not understand how to do a problem. The software walks a student through the problem and shows examples of similar problems.

Reading Counts!
English and Literature teachers can use Scholastic Reading Counts! to assess their students' retention and comprehension of a book. Once a student finishes a book, she can take a quiz designed by Scholastic or customized by the teacher that will grade her understanding of the book. Once all students have taken the exam, the teacher can review the data and create charts or graphs in order to analyze the information. There are thousands of books and quizzes in the Reading Counts! database, but if a book is missing, a teacher can create a custom quiz for that book.

Blackboard
Teachers of all subjects can make use of Blackboard. While it is generally used at the collegiate level, high schools are implementing the software into their curriculum. Blackboard allows teachers to create customized homework assignments, discussion boards, tests and quizzes. Students take exams on the Blackboard website and the software grades the exam and gives the student feedback about what he did wrong. It is a "green" alternative to paper tests and assignments. A student also has the ability to communicate with her teacher and turn in writing assignments through the website, as opposed to printing a copy and bringing it to class.

Moodle is a free alternative to Blackboard designed for schools on a limited budget. Although Moodle is not as polished or easy to use as Blackboard, it is a viable and useful alternative.