Anderson suggests that Belinda was successful in using the desktop publishing program because she was actively involved with the software and able to control the equipment. Information technologies serve to help people communicate with others. Unfortunately little research has looked at the interactions between groups of students with developmental disabilities. The whole area of Internet access and people with developmental disabilities connecting via networked environments remains to be studied. For example, a project that created school newspapers containing news and information collected by peer reporters from distant classrooms was more effective in motivating students to write than a project that encouraged pairs of students to exchange friendly messages via a computer network.
Activities are also more successful when a network coordinator facilitates group planning.
In the project where students worked on the school newspaper, the coordinator organized the exchange of student stories and sent out the master pages to the various schools so that a finished version of the paper could be produced. Using computers effectively Although there are no specific rules about how to use computers most effectively, the following guidelines may help people to design more effective computer tasks that encourage social interaction. Organize tasks that encourage two or three people to work at one computer. Ensure that tasks or computer software allow individuals to take an active part in problem solving and controlling the equipment. Make sure the person is motivated by what he or she is doing.