The Distance Education Room allows students at any Pitt campus, the opportunity to attend certain off-campus classes which they would not normally be able to attend. Professors teach the class at one site, while students at another site can interact as if they were in the same class. Smart Board, which displays a computer screen enabling the professor to show a variety of information to the students. Twenty 350 MHZ PC's running a variety of software . The students may lock the talk button on the microphone for lengthy discussions, freeing them from holding the button down.
Professors use a wireless mic system to allow for greater mobility during class.
In addition , a room microphone is centered to send general background noise to the far site. A technician operates the main camera from a station in the back of the room. The PictureTel camera is located there to display the professor and a Cameraman camera in the front of the room displays students. When the student is done, the camera swings back to a preset wide-angle shot of the room. An Elmo camera is used to display documents, transparencies, and notes to both sites.