P.O. Box 493, Sonoma CA 95476 (707) 935-9566

Congratulations to the 2008 EWYL Graduates:

Jan Alessio, Gennifer Caven, Barbara Ciapponi, Juana de Anda, Linda Duff, Kathleen Eschleman, Susan Foshay Garcia, Kristina Reguero Garrison, Ellen Gruenhagen, Amber Kalcic, Sivani Lloyd, Bonnie Marshall, Krista McAtee, Dawn McIntyre, Brandy Melendy, Matthew Pope, Richelle Ryan, Mike Witkowski

PURPOSE

The purpose of the MERIT (previously Earn While You Learn)– Sonoma program is to successfully train Sonoma Valley public school teachers in the use of technology to enhance their ability to integrate technology within the curriculum thus serving to enhance student learning.

HISTORY

The Earn While You Learn Institute (EWYL), first launched at Foothill College in Los Altos, CA in 2000, is a donor-funded, project-based learning technology institute with a yearlong requirement and follow-up.  EWYL is the brainchild of Gay Krause, a former school principal and teacher, who developed and secured funding for the Krause Center for Innovation (KCI) located at Foothill College. In the summer of 2004, two Sonoma Valley teachers attended the Earn While You Learn Institute at KCI. From that beginning a program was launched here in Sonoma, with major funding supplied by the Vadasz Family Foundation and the rest of the funding, raised locally by SVEF.

Through these funds we were able to create The Sonoma Valley Technology Center at the Myron De Young Library on our high school campus and establish a Sonoma EWYL cohort in conjunction with the KCI. Over the past three summers, fifty-seven teachers participated in the intensive three-week training program entitled Earn While You Learn – Sonoma.  The third group of 18 teachers graduated from the program in May 2008. In 2008, KCI changed the program name to MERIT which stands for Making Education Relevant and Interactive through Technology.  

BENEFITS FOR TEACHERS

The EWYL program is unique in that it pays participating teachers a stipend for completing the program and receive software and other tech equipment for their classrooms. Many of our teachers have expressly mentioned how this program has boosted their motivation for teaching and has enhanced their sense of professionalism. Another tangible benefit for the EWYL teachers is that participating in the program yields CEU credits through Foothill College.  This innovative program provides teachers with the opportunity to focus on creating rich and enduring learning experiences for students. 

TEACHER TESTIMONIALS

"Earn While You Learn made it possible for me to learn amazing technology that I otherwise would never have learned.  Besides working full time and raising teenagers, I also volunteer in my community.  I have taken computer classes in the past, but none have given me to personal attention I needed to a) learn the skills I cared to learn and b) make me want to learn and practice more on my own.  It would have been hard to justify taking so much time away from my family if I hadn't been earning money at the same time. I also taught my teens the skills I learned, as practice for teaching my classes!"
             -Barb Ciapponi - Sonoma Valley High School

Click on the links below to see movie projects created by students at Altimira Middle School.  These students learned how to create these movies from their teacher, Terry Roberts, a graduate of the first EWYL program in Sonoma. 

You will need Windows Media Player to view the movies.
 malayka's war movie.wmv  31.88 MB  04/11/2007 16:10 
 To Carrie - from Taylor.wmv  16.16 MB  04/11/2007 16:27 
 Martin Luther King Jr. Movie.wmv  19.00 MB  04/11/2007 16:16 

For Mac users, click on the link below to get Windows Media Player for Mac.
Get Windows Media Player for Mac