Reasons to contribute to Creative Commons on Flickr

When uploading some photos to Flickr today, I noticed that I had a message. As someone who is not necessarily known for my photography skills, I was thrilled to read this message:

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From: Emma J. Williams Emma Williams
Subject: Schmap: Washington DC Photo Inclusion

Hi Joanna,

I am delighted to let you know that one of your photos with a Creative Commons license has been selected for inclusion in the newly released ninth edition of our Schmap Washington DC Guide:

12th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue
www.schmap.com/washingtondc/activities_allwashingtondc/p=374272/i=374272.jpg

If you use an iPhone or iPod touch, then this same link will take you directly to your photo in the iPhone version of our guide. On a desktop computer, you can still see exactly how your photo is displayed and credited in the iPhone version of our guide at:

12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue
www.schmap.com/?m=iphone#uid=washingtondc&sid=activities_allwashingtondc&p=374272&i=374272

Finally, if you have a blog, you might also like to check out the customizable widgetized version of our Schmap Washington DC Guide, complete with your published photo:
www.schmap.com/guidewidgets/p=35093198N06/c=SM20051091

Please enjoy the guide!

Best regards,
Emma Williams,
Managing Editor, Schmap Guides
www.schmap.me/emma.williams
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Even if I'm not the world's best photographer, it is always exciting to have something published, even if it was unintentional. I also think that it is funny that a Canadian can take a photo that later appears in a map program for the US Capitol.

Welcome to Washington, DC and NECC

I'm in Washington, DC!

After a long day of flying, and thankfully little delay, I arrived in Washington, DC for the NECC on Saturday afternoon.

I had a great start to my NECC experience by starting off my Sunday morning with a tour of Washington, DC. I signed up for a bus tour and enjoyed visiting the different monuments around the city with an excellent guide. I got to visit a number of famous historical monuments including the memorials for Lincoln, FDR, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. I also got to see the Capital building, the White House and the Washington monument. All in all it was an informative tour that makes me want to come back again to explore the city's other monuments and museums. Check out my Flickr album for some photos of my tour and other sights around Washington.

I am very excited to see the conference get underway. I'm looking forward to hearing the keynote tonight, Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers. My goals for this conference are to learn as much as possible about the integration of educational technology into my current practice. I will be starting the new school year with a SMART Board and I look forward to learning more about this amazing classroom tool. I also look forward to meeting a number of people that I have connected with over the year on Twitter and other networking sites. I'm guessing this will be a life changing experience and have a great affect on my current teaching practice. Stay tuned as I write about some of the sessions I will be attending this week.