Key Takeaways:

  • Context: The Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA) hosts a large-scale annual conference that brings together school librarians, administrators, and technology integrators from across the state.
  • Challenges: With 85% of attendees being librarians who often double as tech leads, the event required seamless access to session details, real-time schedule updates, and effective communication tools. Manual tools weren’t cutting it for the team. 
  • Results: 
    • WEMTA successfully planned and executed 9 concurrent sessions per day over 3 consecutive days
    • Attendees used the Sched mobile app to build personalized schedules and access session info on the go
    • Presenters easily submitted their proposals through Sched’s Call for Speakers
    • All session data and presenter contact information were organized and accessible in one platform
    • Sched supported relationship-building and professional learning beyond the event
  • Why Sched? WEMTA has relied on Sched for over a decade because it’s easy to manage and gives attendees the smooth, familiar experience they expect. Sched helps them connect people, organize session content, and create meaningful learning experiences year after year.

🏫💡Built for K-12 schools. Trusted by educators. Run meaningful, professional-looking events on Sched. Free to try—no strings attached.

Building a Statewide Learning Community for School Librarians and EdTech Specialists

Amy Eppinger wears many hats. As co-chair and volunteer for the Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), she helps lead one of the state’s most important professional learning events for K-12 librarians, school administrators, and tech integrators.

Each year, WEMTA’s statewide conference brings together hundreds of professionals who support technology and library programming across Wisconsin schools. From breakout sessions on AI to keynotes on intellectual freedom and censorship, the multi-day event is a hub for both professional development and community connection.

Amy shares, “Our attendees come from all over the state. About 85% are librarians, and many of them also serve as technology integrationists. The other 15% includes administrators and IT leaders who work alongside them to support digital learning in their school districts.”

The WEMTA conference is also a critical fundraiser for the organization. The proceeds directly support WEMTA’s year-round advocacy work and ongoing professional development for librarians across Wisconsin. In other words, the stakes are high, and planning the event comes with a lot of moving pieces.

The Challenge: From Session Proposals to Live Updates, A Full Conference Experience to Manage

WEMTA runs nine concurrent session rounds across three full days of programming. Sessions cover everything from new books and software to hands-on tech workshops and legal updates for school librarians. But every session proposal, speaker detail, room assignment, and last-minute change has to be reviewed, organized, and communicated clearly to attendees.

“One of the greatest gifts we have is that our attendees are also our presenters,” Amy says. “One thing we struggle with is that our program team spends hours reviewing submissions. We might get 17 proposals on AI, so we have to carefully evaluate and decide what really fits.”

Before Sched, managing the speaker submission process and conference logistics was time-consuming and fragmented. Sharing session information with attendees and making schedule changes on the fly? Even harder.

But with Sched, a big win for Amy and the team is that they’re able to provide the schedule to all attendees ahead of time. “They’re able to click into Sched, create their own schedule, and look at other sessions within the framework.”

The Solution: Why WEMTA Chose Sched as Their Event Planning Partner

WEMTA first started using Sched more than a decade ago. Since then, it’s become a familiar part of the conference experience, for both organizers and attendees.

“Our attendees are very used to using Sched,” Amy says. “They’ve got the app on their phones already. They know how to manipulate and work with it.”

Here’s how WEMTA uses Sched to plan and run its statewide conference each year:

Manage the Call for Speakers Process

WEMTA uses Sched’s call for papers tool to review and approve proposals, track session topics, and surface top picks.

Share the Full Event Schedule On Mobile and Desktop

Attendees get personalized schedules, browse speaker bios with ease, and receive real-time push notifications from any device.

“The fact that you can have it on your phone or your computer, it really is an ideal tool for planning a conference,” Amy says.

Make Last-Minute Changes Without Any Trouble

If a session fills up or a speaker cancels, attendees can easily check the app for updates and adjust their schedule in seconds.

“A lot of times, attendees will have a list of top priorities, but also backup sessions in case something changed. Sched lets you pivot quickly,” Amy explains.

Foster Networking and Professional Growth

Sched helps connect attendees to presenters before, during, and after the event. Speaker bios and contact info are visible in the app, which helps attendees form long-term professional learning networks.

Amy shares, “[Sched] supplements that personal relationship that we have, and that just can’t be beat. Sched plays a very important role in helping us connect with one another.”

The Results: A Familiar, Reliable Event Experience Attendees Trust

For Amy and the WEMTA team, using Sched is about simplifying event logistics and delivering an event that feels organized, intuitive, and meaningful, for every person in the room.

“The value in conferences is more than just professional development,” Amy says. “It’s about the relationships and the ability to create a professional learning network that is going to sustain and push you to be the best that you can be.”

She adds, “Sched is instrumental in how we connect with our attendees, how we connect resources, and how we ultimately provide limitless learning.”

That’s why, more than ten years later, Sched is still WEMTA’s go-to event partner.

“If someone were just to walk up to me and say, ‘Hey, I heard that you use Sched,’ I think my advertisement would be: It has been an essential partner for us for over a decade.”

Plan Your Next Event With Sched: The Platform WEMTA Has Trusted for Over a Decade

Sched helps K-12 education teams plan meaningful events all year long, from multi-day conferences to single-day workshops and PD sessions.

If you’re organizing events for your school, district, or association, Sched gives you everything you need in one platform: event registration, scheduling, check-ins, speaker tools, feedback collection, event analytics, and much more.

  • Easy to use: for both attendees and planners
  • Gives your event a truly professional look and feel
  • Built for events of all sizes
  • Trusted by thousands of K-12 schools nationwide

First event is completely free for educators. No credit card required. Get started now.