Positioning the teacher beside the teaching material creates a more guided and connected viewing experience than standard screen sharing. Students can see the lecturer while also engaging with the diagram, framework, or slide being explained, which helps maintain teacher presence during complex conceptual explanations.

This view is especially useful when unpacking models, frameworks, diagrams, or research concepts that require careful narration. It allows the teacher to point students through the material conversationally, while still preserving eye contact, facial expression, and tone — elements that are often lost when slides take over the full screen in a typical Zoom class.

Having the teacher and the classroom in one screen brings a newsroom style discussion to classes. This is especially useful when discussing case studies which have a constant back and forth between students and needs to be closely facilitated by the teacher. Students can see others as they try to catch non-verbal cues for pauses and other nuances that are missed in an online setting.

Bringing the teacher and guest speaker into the same visual frame creates a more deliberate, broadcast-style discussion rather than a standard Zoom call. This is especially useful for guest sessions, industry conversations, interviews, and case-based discussions where the teacher needs to actively facilitate the exchange while keeping the guest visibly present to students.

The layout supports a more professional and engaging learning experience: students can see both speakers clearly, follow the rhythm of the conversation, and pick up non-verbal cues that are often lost in online teaching. The branded visual background also gives the session a stronger sense of presence and polish, helping the live class feel like a curated learning event rather than an ordinary online meeting.

This view places the teacher at the centre of the learning experience while using a visual prompt to focus attention on a key question or concept. Rather than moving students passively through slides, the setup allows the teacher to speak directly to the class while keeping the discussion anchor visible on screen.

This is particularly useful for Q&A, concept clarification, recap moments, and short reflective prompts. The graphical prompt at the bottom of the screen helps keep students oriented and signals the specific point under discussion, while the professional background and direct camera framing create a more polished, broadcast-style learning experience.

This view shows the teacher-side setup that sits behind the polished student-facing Zoom experience. The IOTS brings together multiple screens, camera positioning, lighting/background design, and a teleprompter-style display so the lecturer can manage the live class while maintaining visual presence and flow.

The setup is designed to let the teacher see and coordinate several elements at once: teaching materials, Zoom controls, student view, notes, prompts, and discussion cues. While students experience a cleaner, more broadcast-style live session, the teacher has a structured workspace that reduces the friction of screen sharing, switching, and facilitation during online teaching.

This video explainer introduces the Interactive Online Teaching Space at the University of Auckland campus setup, outlining its components, their purposes, and how it can be integrated to provide a seamless online learning experience.