Arrange the seating units in your class into square clusters of four units each. Each unit should be perpendicular to the front of the room, so no student faces either the front or the back. This arrangement is useful for interactive classrooms because students' attention is not strictly set on the front, which gives them a sense of independence. In turn, it still allows the teacher to monitor student activity more effectively than a convention arrangement of forward-facing rows, because the screens of any computers will not be facing away from the front on the room where you can't see them.
Write or print out a list of students in the class you are designing the seating arrangement for. Do this only after you have had the class for a few days and have a general impression of each students behavior. These days can be spent on simple "getting to know you" activities.
Draw a diagram of the units in your room on a blank sheet of paper. Include an item such as a desk or a door so anyone else who will use the chart, such as a substitute, will know where the front of the room is. There are also online programs you can use to make diagrams; however, these should be printed out blank so you can make changes later if you need to.
Divide the names of students into groups of four, and pencil their names into the unit clusters on your seating chart. Place students who are likely to be disruptive if seated next to each other in different groups and space their groups out as much as you can. Having a balance in genders in each group is a good idea if the makeup of your class allows it. Also make sure there is a balance in terms of academic ability in each cluster, which will be important when students do group work.
Test out your seating chart for a week or so to see if it works. If there are any major problems, you can change the arrangement within this time frame. After this, you need to stick with what the one you have as much as possible, as students may switching seats on their own if they think the seating chart is constantly changing anyway.
Make a few copies of your new seating chart in case you lose the original. Also put one in your substitute folder if you have one. If possible, scan the chart and save the file on your computer so you always have a backup.