Physical layout
The furniture of the ITV classroom
features the usual desks — or tables — and chairs. Even
in this essential, however, differences abound between ITV and
traditional classrooms. A tour of sites on the World Wide Web
concerned with distance learning and featuring photos of ITV
classroom setups at various institutions reveals that at most
sites tables seating two or three, rather than the individual
desk-chairs more common now in traditional classrooms, are the
norm. (See an example on the video here).
As in the traditional classroom, various factors including class
size and teaching approach may dictate arrangement of the tables
in a U-shape, in straight rows, or in V-shaped rows. In contrast
to the traditional classroom, in the case of the ITV classroom we
must add the number and positioning of studio cameras to the list
of factors affecting decisions about seat arrangement. 
The arrangement of tables in rows facing the
instructor, as shown in Figure 1, is the most common
configuration; this way, a single camera mounted above the
instructor's head may tilt, pan and zoom as necessary to capture
the image of any student in the classroom more or less in full
face. If students sit in a U-shape, the ITV technicians must
employ different cameras and angles to capture different
students' images, adding to the complexity of their work. The
camera's capacity for creating a unified point of view on screen
may be exploited for instructional purposes, as shown in this example.
Behind the scenes
The ITV medium requires the participation of many
specialized technical personnel, including engineers who work
behind the scenes to operate cameras, compose onscreen images,
monitor and adjust sound levels, manage the sending of signals,
and troubleshoot. Cooperation between these engineers and the
teacher is essential for management of the ITV classroom, and for
this reason the teacher often gives explicit instructions
regarding class management for the benefit of the engineers, as
in this example.
Teacher's station
The instructor in the ITV classroom sits at a
special “station” at the originating site which
consists of a chair and table plus special technical equipment,
and faces the class. This furniture configuration is similar to
that in the traditional classroom except for the presence of the
additional equipment. The presence of this equipment and the
necessity of avoiding sudden moves out of camera range limits the
instructor's mobility and creates a certain amount of separation
from the students he is facing.
Tools for the student
Students in the ITV classroom have direct control
over microphones placed on the tables or desks in front of them.
In some cases, every student has a microphone, and in some cases
microphones are shared, usually among two or three students. Some
types of microphones are activated by a button that toggles on
and off, and some by the more traditional sliding switch. The
preferred practice is for the student who wishes to speak to turn
on the microphone, identify herself if the instructor has not
already done so, speak, and then turn the microphone off. Student
microphones are generally not left on, as this creates audio
feedback. Because voices are amplified in the ITV classroom, and
also because students (particularly those at receive sites)
cannot all see each other at any given time, if more than one
student speaks at once using the microphones then the potential
for disruption of communication is even greater than if several
students speak at once in the traditional classroom. Students not
visible to one another may make simultaneous bids to speak, and
without visual cues may find smooth turn-taking difficult.
Instructor management of turn-taking can ameliorate this problem;
improvement is also seen with increased student experience in the
classroom. Audio interaction is mediated technologically by
technical personnel handling the control board, who must
constantly readjust the input levels from various sources to
avoid audio feedback. Because of the potential for audio
feedback, instructional strategies that would require all
students to turn their microphones on at the same time are not
advisable. The instructor's microphone, on the other hand, is
usually kept on throughout the class.
The visual presenter
The visual presenter is an important tool in the
ITV instructor's array, allowing full-color display of materials
placed on a flat surface, including written or printed materials.
Here is an example of the use of
the visual presenter to display realia/authentic materials.