Karen Costa (she/her)
LightNews LightNews
banner
karencosta.bsky.social
Karen Costa (she/her)
@karencosta.bsky.social
5.5K followers 1.4K following 4.6K posts
#HigherEd · Climate Action Pedagogy · faculty & student success · online learning advocate · trauma-aware teaching · ADHD/ND · adjunct · author of 99 Tips

https://linktr.ee/KarenRayCosta
Posts Replies Media Videos
karencosta.bsky.social
Anyone want to see what it costs for a one bedroom apt at a continuing care retirement community in MA? I really cannot even.
‘s monthly of over $4000 for one bedroom apartment Buy and fees for one bedroom apartment are nearly $500,000
September 9, 2025 at 7:27 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
What We Talk About When We Talk About Student Engagement

#HigherEd
#AcademicSky
#FacDev

wcet.wiche.edu/frontiers/20...
This morning while we were walking our dog, our elderly neighbor called out to us. He was on the ground, having fallen outside in the middle of the night while walking his own dog. We had to call 911, and then call his kids. Things are hard. They're really, really hard. I've been thinking today about how we often ignore life's challenges in the name of "student engagement." I wrote something about this pre-COVID, and I think it's held up well. Is our desire to engage students always in their best interest? How can we adapt our understanding of student engagement to the realities of our students's lives? #HigherEd
September 9, 2025 at 2:27 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Margo really going through it man stands at crossroad. In One Direction, it says admit you were conned in the other direction it says support a pedophile. He is a Trump supporter.
September 8, 2025 at 7:25 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Holy s is this accurate?
Settlement amount liability the $1.5 million settlement is the largest copyright infringement settlement award ever. It will be split among rights holders with approximately 3000 paid per qualifying title. There are an estimated 500,000 of the title that qualify given that there were a lot of duplicates and to qualify for the class books must have ISBN number
September 7, 2025 at 9:17 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
You guys my grandmother was autistic AND a time traveler.
Tylenol was first introduced to the market by McNeil laboratories in the United States in 1955
September 5, 2025 at 7:47 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Watching alternative news this past weekend.
Lisa Barlow says I’m shaking I’m physically shaking
September 2, 2025 at 1:33 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Been stewing on this one for a minute. No more dead grandparents jokes, please #HigherEd?
There's a #HigherEd trope/meme that I've always hated, that I often see circulated this time time of year: that of the "joke" about how many students' grandparents were killed by your 8am class this term. My son and his cousins lost their grandfather in June, my father-in-law, after a very long battle with cancer and a gut-wrenching hospice journey. Those same cousins have a second grandfather who is now on hospice as well. Odds are my nieces will bury two grandfathers within 4 months during their senior year of high school. Some of my frustration with this meme/"joke" is that I grew up in a family of undertakers: my grandfather and my uncle, so I have a more direct relationship with death than a lot of people. It's an inevitable part of life. It is ever-present if we open our eyes and hearts to it. My analytic brain also doesn't get the joke. At what age do you think 18-24 year old's grandparents die? It's simple math. My son now has three remaining grandparents over the age of 80 as he approaches his college years, so yeah, I hope we have them with us for as long as possible, but realistically, that might not be the case. The past several months have been so hard for our family, and my heart breaks for my nieces, my sister and brother in law, facing this again so soon after the loss of our dear Vô. I can't imagine contending with educators charged with supporting their students making fun of these types of losses. Teachers and professors are teaching through impossible circumstances. And, our students are not the enemy. I hope this lands where it needs to today. Just an invitation for some awareness, basic math, and compassion. May it be of benefit. ✌🏻
August 27, 2025 at 3:20 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Hey @bostonglobe.com “special needs” is no longer considered appropriate language. Just say #disabled. Read more: www.nea.org/words-matter....
Boston globe article uses term “special needs”
August 27, 2025 at 10:12 AM
karencosta.bsky.social
Current fiction read. Not quite my usual choice but really enjoying it so far. Set in a London heat wave so had to prioritize reading it this summer. 🥵
cover of Oisin McKenna's Evenings and Weekends
August 26, 2025 at 3:23 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
So happy to see Susana Morris and Octavia Butler on the cover of my favorite magazine. ❤️ reading #PositiveObsession now and loving it.
Cover of Bookpage
August 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
I've actually come to enjoy only being able to communicate in the present tense...that ends this week 😂 #LanguageLearning #Lingoda
Lingoda class handout: Le futur simple
August 25, 2025 at 4:51 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
At my public library working on the proposal for book #3. Can you guess the topic?
Pile of books on library table include: Tiny Habits, Four Thousand Weeks, Atomic Habits, and Tiny Experiments.
August 25, 2025 at 1:08 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Dipping my toes back in after a break. What kind of tiger 🐅 is #SocialMedia for you?
In which I once again attempt to return to social media after a hiatus without immediately devolving into a toxic habit. I think a lot about Brené Brown's post on sobriety from a few years ago, where she describes some addictions as living with a caged tiger in your living room. She distinguishes b/t abstinence-based addictions (like drinking or drugging) where you keep the tiger in its cage, always. But other types of addictions, non-abstinence based addictions (like food), you let the tiger out of its cage 3x per day. I'm still deciding which kind of tiger hashtag#SocialMedia is for me. 🐅
August 18, 2025 at 12:47 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
On my mind this morning.

#HigherEd
#LifelongLearning
#SandwichGeneration
#OnlineLearning
As my family and I face caretaking responsibilities this season for a family member on hospice, I've had to step back from two online learning experiences I was signed up for in June. Life happened. Both were online, but both were also mostly synchronous. It's got me thinking a lot about accessibility, flexibility, and structure. The MOOC model is one of the most flexible we've seen in the education space, fully online, asynch, and self-paced. It also has abysmal completion rates. In the era of polycrisis (because I know I'm not alone in life happening), what would a truly accessible learning experience look like, one that would allow people the immense benefits of pursuing a meaningful goal that aligns with their values AND that adapts to things like caretaking responsibilities that are often very intense, draining, and highly unpredictable? I think our collective response in higher ed and informal learning spaces is to tell people to not pursue their learning goals at that time if they aren't able to dedicate "enough" time and energy to them, but I'm increasingly uncomfortable with that answer, because again, polycrisis. What is enough? What if some of us never have enough time and energy? Do we not get to learn and pursue our goals too? Would love to hear from all of you on this topic. How can we balance flexibility in structure for maximum accessibility in the era of polycrisis? hashtag#HigherEd hashtag#LifelongLearning hashtag#SandwichGeneration hashtag#OnlineLearning
June 3, 2025 at 11:18 AM
karencosta.bsky.social
yeah the arbitrary go back after 5 days COVID rule is insane. this is day 6. and this is the worst my cough has been so I'd be spewing it all over god's creation.
positive covid test
May 21, 2025 at 11:15 AM
karencosta.bsky.social
Asking ChatGPT questions for advice is insane when magic eight balls exist
May 18, 2025 at 8:41 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Bought to bathe in this stuff
May 17, 2025 at 9:28 AM
karencosta.bsky.social
"Swimming in Rock Creek is dangerous and prohibited by the National Park Service, as the creek contains dangerously high bacteria levels."
RFK Jr. swims in a bacteria filled creek with his grandchildren
May 13, 2025 at 3:15 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
heard back from the #Worcester city manager's assistant. jesus wept.
Thank you for contacting the City Manager’s Office. We understand that the incident involving several federal agencies and the Worcester Police Department that occurred on Eureka street yesterday is upsetting. The Worcester Police Department was called to where there was growing hostility between the public and several federal agencies. While the City of Worcester and Worcester Police Department do not assist or collaborate with ICE on civil detainments, we cannot interfere with a federal authority. The City itself does not and will never target individuals based on their immigration status and will remain a welcoming city to all new arrivals through our partnerships with local resettlement and social service agencies. The matter is under investigation, and we have no further information or details to share at this time. We appreciate your concern and feedback.
May 9, 2025 at 3:55 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
This is Title III, one of the few avenues that community colleges that get practically ZILCH $ have to make large-scale changes beyond survival mode #HigherEd #AcademicSky
Again, IHEs with their States and local communities—not the Federal Government—should be responsible for fiscal health of an institution and promoting student success. These funds have been used to promote DEI, inconsistent with the Administration’s priorities and Executive Orders. It is not the responsibility of Federal taxpayers to support a new “Guided Pathways Village, expanding the current Learning Communities and creating a new Ethnic and Pride Inclusion Center for historically underserved students, including LGBTQ+ students.”
May 2, 2025 at 6:09 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
#HigherEd #AcademicSky
TRIO and GEAR UP are a relic of the past when financial incentives were needed to motivate Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) to engage with low-income students and increase access. The lack of action by IHEs also meant that States and local school districts needed additional support to prepare low-income students for college. Today, the pendulum has swung and access to college is not the obstacle it was for students of limited means. IHEs should be using their own resources to engage with K-12 schools in their communities to recruit students, and then once those students are on campus, aid in their success through to graduation. A renewed focus on academics and scholastic accomplishment by IHEs, rather than engaging in woke ideology with Federal taxpayer subsidies, would be a welcome change for students and the future of the Nation.
May 2, 2025 at 6:07 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Does anyone have any advice on these? What are we doing with all of our books?
Messy pile of books Slightly less messy cart full of books
May 2, 2025 at 3:40 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
this guy cannot take a hint, he's the most hated man in the history of the autism community, and he JUST. WON'T. SHUT. UP.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
“Every kid who has got a diabetes diagnosis, that should be a headline,” Kennedy said during an April 28 interview with Dr. Phil McGraw on Merittv.com. “Every kid who gets an autism diagnosis, that should be a headline. But you never read about them, and the media is obsessed with infectious disease.”
April 30, 2025 at 5:42 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Hooked on raku. I made this! 🔥💙
April 26, 2025 at 8:50 PM
karencosta.bsky.social
Parker Posey says "Vladimir noooo"
April 24, 2025 at 9:06 PM