PictureTel's Virtual Field Trips Promote Global Classroom; Students From Around the World Connect With Integrated Collaboration Technology.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 12, 2000

PictureTel(R) Corporation (Nasdaq:PCTL), the world leader in integrated collaboration, and its channel partners today announced that students from the around the world are participating in electronic field trips - where they are transported to far-flung locales via world-class integrated collaboration technology.

The electronic field trips provide live social interaction between students, educators, and scientists from different countries. Today, a first grade class from Annie Sargent School in Andover, MA, ventured to the Antarctic to visit with the National Science Foundation's U.S. Antarctic Program.

Dave Bresnahan, head of the U.S. program in the Antarctic, led the students in a discussion of the Antarctic environment and Bresnahan's study of the region's climatic and living conditions. Using PictureTel's integrated collaboration technology, curious students questioned Bresnahan about the Antarctic's long hours of daylight and the many types of animals and bugs living in the region.

Bresnahan noted during the field trip that he and the National Science Foundation participate in electronic field trips to encourage the study of science, especially among young students.

PictureTel also invited Janet LaBelle, whose brother worked with Admiral Richard E. Byrd, leading several expeditions to the Antarctic region. LaBelle discussed the early days of exploration and Admiral Byrd's work to claim thousands of square miles of Arctic territory for the U.S.

In mid-November, fifth grade students from Cancia New Hampshire Middle School, Sao Palo, Brazil; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Juan, Puerto Rico journeyed to NASA's Johnson Space Center and viewed its International Space Station Tour.

The group enjoyed The Virtual ISS Tour, a live, interactive visit to the Johnson Space Center's unique training facility where astronauts prepare for their missions in space. The students not only received an educational guided tour of the International Space Station training facilities, but had a chance to ask questions of and interact with a NASA representative.

In additional to these recent trips, PictureTel has enabled students from kindergarten to high school to participate in a variety of live, interactive virtual field trips:

-- The Simon Wiesenthal Center's Museum of Tolerance. The Simon Wiesenthal
Center is an international center for Holocaust remembrance, the defense of
human rights, and the Jewish people. Students participated in a virtual tour of
the museum and had the rare opportunity to interact with a Holocaust survivor
and hear his account first hand

-- The Cincinnati Zoo's "Nobody Likes Me Program." In a teleconference with the
zoo, students encountered frogs, toads, bats, bugs, and snakes. They learned
about the ecological importance of these animals and what makes them
interesting or beautiful. Students shared thoughts and emotions about these
animals, and negative myths were dispelled. Students created an adopt-an-animal
ad for each animal, which provided a hands-on, kinesthetic component to the
program

-- The Atlanta Zoo's "Giant Panda Bear Program." Students learned about the
newest members of the zoo's collection, Lun Lun and Yang Yang. The students
learned about the Giant Panda Bears' basic biology, distribution, and status in
the wild, and what Zoo Atlanta is doing to help save these endangered animals

-- Cleveland Metro Park Zoo's "Rain Forest Program." Students learned about the
four living zones of the tropical rain forest, from the ground to the treetops,
and the animals that might be found there

"Videoconferencing offers enormous educational potential, providing first-hand experiences for students, who might not otherwise have the opportunity," says Sarah Lake, PictureTel marketing support representative for Latin America and program coordinator. "We've worked very closely with our channel partners to find these students and to bring them a wide variety content that provides a hands on component during the electronic field trip. There are many distance learning vehicles, however, video collaboration is the only one that provides the same level of interactivity as the conventional classroom while erasing geographical distance and allowing social interaction."

Since December 1999, Lake has worked with channel partners and local ministers of education to identify school districts in Latin America that want to participate. Once identified, Lake arranges for presentations from various content providers while the channel partners find the best way to deliver equipment to the students.

"The beauty of the technology is that it provides these students the opportunity to interact with individuals in very different cultures and learn from these interactions," says Pablo Torregrosa of VisualTel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a PictureTel channel partner. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with PictureTel to present the students with a meaningful experience and an exciting example of the power of technology."

"The use of videoconferencing technology in distance learning has increased dramatically over the last few years," says Michele Bouchard of the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications (MCET), a public organization established to promote the use of technology to improve education, the business climate, and the lives of the citizens of Massachusetts. "PictureTel's field trips are a great example of videoconferencing in the learning environment. In fact, we're currently working with them to establish a joint program with MCET. It's a perfect fit."

About PictureTel

PictureTel Corporation is the world leader in developing, manufacturing, and marketing a full range of visual- and audio-collaboration and streaming-video solutions. The company's systems meet customers' collaboration needs from the desktop to the boardroom. PictureTel also markets network conferencing servers and a comprehensive portfolio of enterprise-wide services.

Additional PictureTel information is available on the Internet at www.picturetel.com. PictureTel collaboration products and services eliminate the barrier of distance, enabling people to be Anywhere Now(TM).

This release includes projections and other forward-looking statements about the company's revenues, earnings, and other measures of economic performance. Actual results could differ materially from forecasts due to many factors such as, for example, competitive pressures, changes in technology and the difficulty of forecasting in overseas markets and indirect channels.

Additional information concerning risks that could cause actual results to differ is contained in the company's annual report on Form 10K as filed with the SEC. The company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PictureTel is a registered trademark and Anywhere Now is a trademark of PictureTel Corporation. Other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.