AI Adoption Strategy
Guiding the move from personal to enterprise-scale AI across teaching and operations. with responsible governance and real classroom impact.
CIO · Wichita Public Schools
Rob Dicksonbuilds the future of learning.
I build the systems, schools, and strategies that help public education move faster without losing its soul.
11 studies
50-state research, public receipts
50,000students impacted
100+microschool waitlist
2,600+at Learning Forward keynote
7featured FETC sessions
Top 100National EdTech influencer
What I Believe
AI should deepen human learning, not automate broken systems. Technology leadership in schools isn't about devices or dashboards. it's about designing better conditions for students, teachers, and communities.
Start Here
How can I help?
Whether you're planning a conference, leading a district, or covering the future of learning. here's your front door.
Book me to speak
Keynotes and sessions on AI, school design, cyber resilience, and future-ready learning.
See speaking topicsExplore the work
Creative Minds, district AI implementation, esports & drone soccer, and virtual learning.
See the initiativesRead the work
Essays, the Sunday Signal, and 50-state research with sources attached.
Browse writing
Latest
What shipped recently.
Sunday Signal
Sunday Signal Report: September 6, 2026
The two largest U.S. districts paused student AI. Computer-use agents learned to click. A freeze is not a learning design.
Read ResearchOpen enrollment is not one policy. It is four. State-by-state scan, August 2026.
A 50-state scan of intra-district, inter-district, capacity-posting, and transportation/funding rules. Kansas 2024-25 seats-if-capacity is the worked example. Missing cells stay no
Read EssayFrank: My Hermes Setup
A visual tour of Frank, my Hermes setup for wearable context, scheduled research, model-routed profiles, skills, memory, and verified work.
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About
Strategy, systems, and people.
I'm the Chief Information Officer for Wichita Public Schools, Kansas's largest district, serving 50,000 students across 94 schools with nearly 10,000 professionals. This is a personal site, not an official Wichita Public Schools channel.
My best work happens at the intersection of strategy, systems, and people: building teams that turn ambitious ideas into durable public-school programs. I pair design thinking with infrastructure and AI. always anchored to the pedagogy that makes them matter.
Across three districts in two states, I've planned and launched a new virtual school each time, including the first K-12 virtual school in Nebraska history. plus microschools, district-wide esports, and responsible, enterprise-scale AI for teaching and operations.
"Inspire future leaders and empower every student with the skills and knowledge to succeed."
50,000
Students served districtwide
94
Schools & programs supported
~10,000
Staff & professionals
30
Years in technology & leadership
Expertise
Where I focus
From enterprise AI strategy to the infrastructure beneath every classroom. connecting bold ideas to durable systems.
New Learning Models
Designing and launching virtual schools, microschools, and project-based learning environments that reimagine what school can be.
Cybersecurity & Resilience
Protecting 50,000 students and staff. multi-factor authentication, filtering, incident response, and the resilience to keep learning running.
Edtech Infrastructure
Device refresh, student information systems, and networks. the reliable backbone that makes digital learning possible at scale.
Leadership & Teams
Hiring, coaching, and keeping teams that can ship public-school programs without the theater.
Finance & Bond Planning
District technology planning, budgeting, and bond initiatives that fund long-term transformation without losing fiscal discipline.
Signature Initiatives
Ideas, made real.
Each of these started as a question. what if school worked differently?. and became a program students are now lining up to join.
01
Virtual School · Founder
Education Imagine Academy
A K-12 virtual school I founded and oversee. It hit maximum capacity in its very first year and earned the Microsoft Showcase School distinction.
Why it matters: online learning can be rigorous, well-supported, and in such demand that it fills.
Full
Year-one capacity
02
Microschool · K-6 Vertical Classroom
Creative Minds
A public microschool where technology and design turn students into active makers who "create meaning through doing." Mornings are core; afternoons are project-based, with the community teaching specials.
Why it matters: public schools can build personalized, project-based models without abandoning equity or access.
100+
On the waitlist
03
Athletics & STEM · In Partnership with WSU
Esports & Drone Soccer
In collaboration with Wichita State University, I helped launch competitive esports across every secondary school. "Gaming concepts" is now the most-taken elective in the district.
Why it matters: belonging drives attendance. and a clear on-ramp to STEM careers and identity.
#1
Most-taken elective
04
Enterprise AI · Districtwide
AI in Teaching & Operations
Leading the transition from personal to enterprise adoption of AI across a 50,000-student system. pairing purposeful technology with a clear, responsible adoption path for educators.
Why it matters: AI scales only when governance and professional learning scale with it.
50K
Students in scope
Writing & Speaking
On stage, on the page, on the mic
A national voice on AI, esports, cybersecurity, and new school models. keynoting conferences, writing for the field, and co-hosting the What the EdTech? podcast.
Featured Keynote · Dec 2025
“Don't Be an Album, Be a DJ”
Co-delivered with Dyane Smokorowski, this keynote traded the one-size-fits-all “album” model of education for an AI-enabled “DJ” approach. personalized, on-demand learning. and sent educators home with four ready-to-use professional learning plans.
View conference recapTalks I give
- AI without the hype cycle
- The CIO as learning designer
- Cyber resilience in K-12
- Microschools & new public-school models
- From infrastructure to instruction
- Esports, drone soccer & belonging
Selected Speaking & Podcasts
FETC Featured Speaker
Seven sessions in Orlando on cyber resilience, AI implementation, esports & drone soccer, and future-ready elementary minds.
ISTELive 25. AI Leadership Panel
Microsoft-moderated panel in San Antonio on implementing generative AI responsibly across districts.
EdTech Week NYC. Panelist
“Beyond the Sales Pitch”. a framework for evaluating edtech for efficacy and equity.
What the EdTech?. Co-host & Creator
Co-hosting the podcast since 2022, storytelling the impact of technology on culture, community, and learning.
Selected Writing
Reimagining Learning Experiences With AI
The Learning Professional (Learning Forward) · Oct 2025. on AI as a teacher's thought partner and personalized learning at scale.
Embracing AI Through Our Staff Development
School Administrator (AASA) · Nov 2024. co-authored on Wichita's strategic AI professional-development rollout.
Securing & Future-Proofing Your School IT
Tech & Learning · Mar 2022. featured expert on filtering, two-factor authentication, and K-12 data security.
When Vendors & Districts Collaborate on PD
EdSurge · Dec 2014. authored on the Omaha–Microsoft Office 365 professional-development partnership.
Career
Three decades from the network closet to the C-suite
From an Air Force network specialist to district CIO. a through-line of building reliable infrastructure and launching a new virtual school in each of my last three districts.
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Aug 2019. Present
Chief Information Officer
Wichita Public Schools · Kansas
Leading digital transformation for the largest district in Kansas. Acting as a change agent driving innovation inside and outside the classroom across the Microsoft 365 & Azure ecosystem on Surface devices, and overseeing the shift to an Intune-managed Windows device model.
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May 2014. Aug 2019
Executive Director of Technology
Omaha Public Schools · Nebraska
Managed digital transformation for the largest district in Nebraska. Deployed Microsoft 365, migrated the on-premise data center to Azure, equipped staff with Surface Pro devices, moved the district to 1:1, and built a Microsoft Innovative Educator program of 200+ educators. Started the first K-12 virtual school in Nebraska history and initiated a statewide Future Ready Plan.
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Jul 2004. May 2014
Director of Technology
Andover Public Schools · Kansas
Led both instructional technology and the technology team, started Andover eCademy, and implemented the first vBlock converged data center in K-12 education. earning the district a National School Boards Association Digital District Award.
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Jul 1999. Jul 2004
Network Engineer
Andover Public Schools · Kansas
Designed, built, and maintained the district network infrastructure. the foundation of a 25-year career advancing K-12 technology in the same community.
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Jun 1995. Jun 1999
Network Specialist
United States Air Force · McConnell AFB
Served as a network specialist, building the discipline, reliability, and mission-first mindset that still shapes how I lead enterprise technology today.
Also serving the broader field as a KansasCityCIO Advisory Board member (2021–2025), part of the national InspireCIO Leadership Network, and a former board member of the AIM Institute.
Recognition
Honors & distinctions
2026
EdTech Top 100 Influencer
Named to the EdTech Top 100 in EdTech Digest's State of EdTech 2026–2027 report. recognized among the leaders moving education forward.
2024
Top 100 Education Influencer
District Administration magazine. named among the nation's Top 100 Education Influencers of 2024.
2024
Kansas Tech Community Innovator of the Year
FlagshipKansas.Tech. recognizing leaders using technology for social and community development in Kansas.
2021
Kansas City CIO of the Year
Orbie Award · Public Sector. the premier technology-executive recognition program, awarded through a rigorous peer review.
2022
National CIO of the Year. Finalist
Inspire Awards · Public Sector. named a national finalist for outstanding CIO leadership.
Microsoft
Microsoft Showcase School
Education Imagine Academy earned global Showcase School recognition for innovation in digital learning.
ISTE / ASCD
Distinguished District
Wichita Public Schools recognized for educational excellence and forward-thinking leadership.
2017
Administrator Network Award
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). recognized for exemplary leadership.
2016
Top 30 Technologists, Transformers & Trailblazers
Center for Digital Education. named among the nation's leading public-sector technology innovators.
2014
20 to Watch
National School Boards Association. honored as an emerging leader to watch in education technology.
National
Published Thought Leadership
Featured in Learning Forward and District Administration on reimagining learning experiences with AI.
Credentials
A practitioner, not just a strategist
46 certifications and counting. I earn the credentials in the platforms my teams run, so strategy stays grounded in how the technology actually works.
Artificial Intelligence
- AI Agent Developer · Vanderbilt
- Agentic AI Architecture in Python · Vanderbilt
- Trustworthy Generative AI · Vanderbilt
- Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT · Vanderbilt
- Generative AI for Data Scientists · IBM
- Responsible AI · Google Cloud
- Large Language Models · Google Cloud
Cloud & Infrastructure
- Microsoft 365 Fundamentals
- Azure Fundamentals
- Digital Transformation · Google Cloud
- Application Modernization · Google Cloud
- Google Cloud Security & Operations
Leadership & Learning
- Futures Thinking Specialization
- Social Computing · Johns Hopkins
- Microsoft Certified Educator