Open for Learning
Abre is a software platform that allows schools to manage and distribute web-based software to staff, students, and parents. Abre provides an ecosystem of software applications to help administrators, teachers, students and parents focus on education.
Abre Grew from a Need
We wanted to spend less time jumping through hoops and more time teaching students
Hamilton invested in Chromebooks. While we found Chromebooks to be an excellent choice for instruction, we quickly realized we had some problems: Messy applications.
The complexity of managing siloed applications created confusion. For many of the most important functions of a school’s software there were no modern alternatives. Dated, inefficient software coupled with locked-down data meant schools put much more into their software then they received back in value.
Abre grew from a need to change the value formula for school’s software investments.
Abre is Open
Open source brings higher quality
As in open source. The code is available for all to see, use, and modify for their districts. We believe learning works best when working towards a tangible end goal. We encourage students, staff, and the community at large to build apps that fit their particular needs. School communities guide Abre’s product direction.
Presentation
Resources
Presenters
Zach Vander Veen
Zach Vander Veen is the Director of Technology for the Hamilton City School District. His roots are in teaching – having taught history and served as a technology instructional coach. Zach’s current focus is in developing the open-source platform called Abre and helping districts create web apps that work for them.
His works and portfolio can be found at https://edlighten.net.
Chris Rose
Chris Rose is the Assistant Director of Technology for the Hamilton City School District. As a former high school math teacher, Chris taught Algebra and Pre-Calculus.
Chris has presented at a number of conferences on topics covering education and technology. Chris is the Co-Founder of Gamified.com, a gamification platform that focuses on the use of experience points, badges, avatars, and leaderboards to provide learners with an engaging learning experience.
Chris’ is currently the lead developer of an open-source platform called Abre that helps schools manage and distribute web-based software to staff, students, and parents. His portfolio can be viewed at https://christopherrose.com.
