This year, the Center for Technology in Education (CTE) celebrates 40 years of transforming early childhood, special education, and education leadership. Founded in 1986 to advance assistive technology for children with disabilities, CTE has grown into a nationally recognized center serving educators, families, and state agencies across the country. Our solutions — from early online learning systems to Maryland’s statewide quality initiatives to data platforms that strengthen special education and leadership practice — improve outcomes for all children. Today, guided by both expertise and lived experience, we continue to expand research, advance AI-informed tools, and strengthen the systems that support children, families, and educators.
CTE’s origins trace back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, when early personal computers were just beginning to enter classrooms. A small group of visionaries at Johns Hopkins — including Jacqueline Nunn, Gilbert Shiffman, Lawrence Larsen, and Marion Panyan — saw the potential of technology to unlock access for children with disabilities who had long been denied meaningful learning opportunities. They carried computers between campuses, partnered with the Applied Physics Laboratory, and designed some of the earliest instructional software for students with disabilities. Their work helped spark national interest, culminating in the 1981 Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab National Search: one of the first efforts to identify computer-based innovations for people with disabilities. The momentum of these early efforts established the foundation for a formal center dedicated to harnessing technology for equity.
In 1986, in partnership with the Maryland State Department of Education, the Center for Technology in Human Disabilities (later renamed the Center for Technology in Education) was born. Early work focused on assistive technology, instructional software, leadership tools, and research on how technology could be meaningfully integrated into teaching and learning. Projects such as the Technology Integration Project and the STAT model demonstrated how deeply collaborative work with schools and families could transform practice. Over the decades, CTE expanded its focus from assistive technology to instructional technology, leadership development, and early childhood systems. The center played a key role in developing Maryland’s online IEP and IFSP systems, statewide quality initiatives, professional learning models, and early online learning resources. Collaborative partnerships with educators, families, and state leaders helped CTE develop research-driven tools that were practical, scalable, and tied to improved outcomes for children.
