Experience Programming in Quorum (EPIQ)

Client: Quorum Outreach and Research Foundation
Date: May 2010 through May 2023
Services: Emerging Technologies, Working Groups
A busy classroom or workshop setting with several people seated around large tables. In the foreground, Sina Bahram, a Persian man wearing headphones uses a laptop while seated near stacked plastic bins and small wheeled robot kits. Across from him, a white woman wearing dark glasses uses a refreshable Braille display. Other participants sit nearby, including a woman at a laptop and a man adjusting his glasses. The tables are covered with electronics, wires, water bottles, robotics components, and storage boxes.

PAC supported Quorum Foundation’s EPIQ from 2010 to 2023 through Sina Bahram’s leadership, instruction, and technology demonstrations, helping educators use the accessible Quorum programming language to expand inclusive computer science learning, including for blind students.

Media

A casual group selfie taken in a classroom of several adults with light skin tone seated around tables using laptops, notebooks, and water bottles. Three people in the foreground are smiling at the camera, including Sina Bahram a Persian man, and Sam Shaw, a white man, while others in the background are working or talking. The room has large windows, wall decorations, a bulletin board, and a large display screen on the right.
In a classroom, a man with light skin in a plaid shirt sits at a round table using a laptop and wearing large headphones. A red-haired woman with glasses leans close to watch the screen. The table has printed worksheets and water bottles scattered across it. A service dog, is lying or resting under the man's chair near his feet. Other chairs, tables, and people are visible in the background.

Project Description

Experience Programming in Quorum (EPIQ) is an international professional development workshop where educators learn foundational skills for teaching computer science using the Quorum programming language. Quorum is an evidence-based programming language designed with accessibility in mind and used to create games, build robots, teach computing concepts, and support broader participation in computer science education.

PAC President Sina Bahram was involved with EPIQ from 2010 through 2023. During that time, he attended the conference, served on the EPIQ Steering Committee beginning in 2014, and served on the Quorum Outreach and Research Foundation board. Sina contributed strategic insight to the conference, taught classes, and presented annual talks and technology demonstrations showing projects built with the latest Quorum tools.

EPIQ began in 2010 as part of a National Science Foundation-funded project (CNS-0940521). The program played an important role in helping educators expand access to computer science learning for blind students and in advancing practical approaches to inclusive computer science education.

You can find more information on the Quorum Language website.