[RUME] query, new blog

[Cathy Kessel]

Dear all,

I have a query and an announcement.

Query: Is there anything available that could be used for drawing  
while in a chat room? I may have been misled by ads for "electronic  
blackboard" and Web CT, into thinking that such things exist. I looked  
around a bit and see that there are shared documents like Google Docs  
and freehand drawing software, but I'm getting the impression that  
there is no such thing as a shared document that allows drawing. I  
know that one could upload drawings but I'm wondering if there's  
something that could be used for drawing during a chat rather than  
previously prepared.

Announcement: I've started a blog called Mathematics and Education: http://mathedck.wordpress.com/ 
. I've put the description below. My first post concerns bad  
statistics about women in science. Among other things, I think it  
raises interesting questions about the statistical literacy (or would  
it be quantitative literacy?) of some psychologists.

--Cathy Kessel

Blog description:
Mathematics and Education is intended as a contribution toward filling  
the gap in media coverage of education. The December 2009 Brookings  
Report Invisible: 1.4 Percent Coverage for Education is Not Enough says:

"During the first nine months of 2009, only 1.4 percent of national  
news coverage from television, newspapers, news Web sites, and radio  
dealt with education. This paucity of coverage is not unique to 2009.  
In 2008, only 0.7 percent of national news coverage involved  
education, while 1.0 percent did so in 2007. This makes it difficult  
for the public to follow the issues at stake in our education debates  
and to understand how to improve school performance."

This blog is also intended to contribute toward more informed and  
accurate discussion of topics that concern mathematics and gender.

Accuracy is sometimes linked with slowness. Some bloggers seem to be  
simultaneously accurate and speedy, so this connection does not seem  
inevitable. But given the pace of its author, this blog is likely to  
be a “slow blog” in the spirit of the Slow Movement.