History of NETA

Before there was NETA, there was NAEDS.

There’s a lot you might not know about our organization, and this upcoming May marks our 32nd anniversary of the organization. Read the bullet points below for some interesting facts about NETA.

• Started as Nebraska Association of Educational Data Systems (NAEDS) in about 1979, and possibly before.
• NAEDS became the Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA) in May of 1987, and we’ve kept the name ever since.
• The national organizations IACE and ICCE merged into The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) in 1991, sound familiar? NETA continues to be an affiliate of ISTE today.
• NETA officially became a corporation in April of 1993.
• NETA officially attained non-profit 501(c)(3) status in October of 2000.
• The first conference was held in 1987. The 20th Anniversary was celebrated during April 2007 conference and the 25th Anniversary was celebrated at 2012 conference. The 30th Anniversary was celebrated during the April 2017 conference.

Other NETA Organizational Information

• NETA employed an Executive Secretary for many years. Her name was Jane Ludwig, and after her was Linda Dickeson. This position was on a part time basis with a stipend paid. In 1997, the job became a 1/4 time job (partial contract from LPS) with a stipend also paid for overtime work (evenings and weekends).
• In January 2004, NETA increased the Executive Director position to 3/4 time contract for Linda Dickeson.
• In August 2006, an Executive Director was hired on hourly-time basis. Sandy Blankenship was the first Executive Director.
• In July 2012, Julie Moore was hired as NETA Executive Director on a more full time basis. Julie Moore became NETA’s first employee in August of 2013.
• In 2013, NETA partnered with NCSA (Nebraska Council of School Administrators) to hold a Nebraska Fall Ed Tech Conference in Kearney, NE in response to membership feedback to hold an event farther west in the state. The conference also aligned with NETA board goals set to increase member benefits and partnerships.
• For many years the NETA Conference was held at the Holiday Inn Central in Omaha. Beginning with NETA 2009, the conference site was the La Vista Conference Center, Embassy Suites. Beginning with NETA 2015, the conference site was the CenturyLink Center Omaha in downtown Omaha. In 2018, the CenturyLink Center Omaha changed their name to the CHI Health Center Omaha.
• NETA moved to a free membership model in April 2015, and have continued to grow with over 5,000 current members from over 30 states.

The more you know right? We’ve enjoyed our time as an organization, and are looking forward to continuing to make history and provide our educators the best edtech experience in the Midwest.