Hong Kong (12 March 2010) - An increasing number of primary and secondary schools are leveraging video conferencing for classroom-to-classroom collaboration as a way to expand their curriculum and give students memorable learning experiences by interacting with students and teachers in other cities, states and countries. Each year hundreds of schools get their first experience through Read around the Planet, a free, annual video conferencing event sponsored by Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the leading provider of visual communications solutions, and Two-Way Interactive Connections in Education (TWICE), Michigan's K-12 video conference organization. In the 9th year, Read Around the Planet 2010 took place between February 22 and March 5 and involved more than 58,000 students in six countries.

Read Around the Planet is an international video conferencing event designed to promote reading and the opportunities for classroom collaborations in education. The program is timed with, and in celebration of, the National Education Association's (NEA) 13th annual Read Across America Day, which takes place on or near March 2, the birthday of children's author Dr. Seuss; and also timed with World Book Day, which took place March 4.

Each class that registers for the Read Around the Planet program is matched with a class in another state or country based on student age and curriculum interests. The two classes connect by video conferencing and each call is unique with content and activities determined by the teachers. This year, nearly 2,000 classes participated from six countries - the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Schools get involved in Read Around the Planet through a unique professional networking tool for educators called Polycom Collaborations Around the Planet (CAPspace). Sponsored by Polycom and administered by TWICE, CAPspace is a free tool that more than 6,000 educators from 26 countries use to easily find colleagues with similar curriculum needs who also have access to video conferencing equipment. Through CAPspace, educators can register for events like Read Around the Planet, Polycom special events, and TWICE events, or arrange to collaborate with other classes anytime throughout the year to enhance the learning experience and expand cultural awareness.

In addition to CAPspace, Polycom offers a range of programs to help educators get involved throughout the year and make the most of their video conferencing systems. Additional programs including a searchable database containing nearly 250 video-enabled content providers and more than 2,100 active programs such as zoos, museums, authors and experts in a given field.