Nicole States (she/they)
@nelizzaa.bsky.social
Instructional Developer at Saint Louis University. Avid fan of alternative grading and creating welcoming STEM classrooms. Personally love all things food, board gaming, and PF2e. Opinions are my own. 🏳️🌈
Reposted by Nicole States (she/they)
Help me I don’t care about Taylor Swift
August 26, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Help me I don’t care about Taylor Swift
Big Brother Unlocked is so bad they had to trick us into watching it
August 25, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Big Brother Unlocked is so bad they had to trick us into watching it
Life got in the way of my writing, and I am still bad at interacting on here. But I posted about what Love Island had me reflecting about teaching this summer.
Link: open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Link: open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Teaching Lessons from the Love Island Villa
Small, intentional shifts can move teaching from “good enough” to genuinely meaningful.
open.substack.com
August 22, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Life got in the way of my writing, and I am still bad at interacting on here. But I posted about what Love Island had me reflecting about teaching this summer.
Link: open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Link: open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Tragus rings and nose hoops shouldn’t be this difficult to put in
August 7, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Tragus rings and nose hoops shouldn’t be this difficult to put in
I saw a cool idea today for incorporating small opportunities for students to redo assignments, I wanted to share. An instructor allowed students to redo one major assignment. They weren't overwhelming their grading by allowing redos for everything, but testing the waters with one major assignment.
July 14, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I saw a cool idea today for incorporating small opportunities for students to redo assignments, I wanted to share. An instructor allowed students to redo one major assignment. They weren't overwhelming their grading by allowing redos for everything, but testing the waters with one major assignment.
Do people still read the Chronicle?
I have been getting more and more frustrated by the articles they allow filled with hate and deficit frameing. But today I read a post that had something fatphobic in it, and that may just be my final straw.
I have been getting more and more frustrated by the articles they allow filled with hate and deficit frameing. But today I read a post that had something fatphobic in it, and that may just be my final straw.
July 10, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Do people still read the Chronicle?
I have been getting more and more frustrated by the articles they allow filled with hate and deficit frameing. But today I read a post that had something fatphobic in it, and that may just be my final straw.
I have been getting more and more frustrated by the articles they allow filled with hate and deficit frameing. But today I read a post that had something fatphobic in it, and that may just be my final straw.
Reposted by Nicole States (she/they)
Okay but let’s bring in a hot woman for Chelley instead of having to deal with the trash bag. #LoveIslandUSA
a man in a dog costume is talking to another man while holding a water bottle .
Alt: a man in a dog costume is talking to another man while holding a water bottle .
media.tenor.com
June 4, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Okay but let’s bring in a hot woman for Chelley instead of having to deal with the trash bag. #LoveIslandUSA
“Just manage your time better.” We say it to students, but what if there’s simply nothing left to manage?
In my latest post, I reflect on what not playing Civilization VI for a month taught me.
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
In my latest post, I reflect on what not playing Civilization VI for a month taught me.
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
There’s No Time to Learn
It’s not a time management problem when there’s nothing left to manage
open.substack.com
May 30, 2025 at 4:26 PM
“Just manage your time better.” We say it to students, but what if there’s simply nothing left to manage?
In my latest post, I reflect on what not playing Civilization VI for a month taught me.
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
In my latest post, I reflect on what not playing Civilization VI for a month taught me.
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Maybe some of my annoyance is personal, but we gotta stop deficit framing our students.
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Higher Ed’s Still Adapting to Gen Z- But They’re Almost Gone
If we don’t evolve with our students, we’re the ones falling behind.
open.substack.com
May 7, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Maybe some of my annoyance is personal, but we gotta stop deficit framing our students.
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Reposted by Nicole States (she/they)
Educators: If your students are leaning on AI, it's probably not because they're lazy. More likely, they're feeling caught between the hidden curriculum (things they're expected to know but aren't taught explicitly) and the high-stakes culture of education (pressure to be perfect to get ahead).
Here is what I want to say to people using AI for everyday tasks
Not “you are terrible for using it”
But your own words, your own way, is enough. Your own emails are fine. There is no real rush. The rush is manufactured.
Not “you are terrible for using it”
But your own words, your own way, is enough. Your own emails are fine. There is no real rush. The rush is manufactured.
April 23, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Educators: If your students are leaning on AI, it's probably not because they're lazy. More likely, they're feeling caught between the hidden curriculum (things they're expected to know but aren't taught explicitly) and the high-stakes culture of education (pressure to be perfect to get ahead).
Learning something new is hard. Like… trying-to-win-a-domination-victory-in-Civ-VI hard.
So I wrote a blog about it.
Give it a read 👉
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
So I wrote a blog about it.
Give it a read 👉
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
What Sid Meier's Civilization VI has taught me about learning
As we become "experts" in our fields, it can be hard to remember how learning feels.
open.substack.com
April 22, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Learning something new is hard. Like… trying-to-win-a-domination-victory-in-Civ-VI hard.
So I wrote a blog about it.
Give it a read 👉
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
So I wrote a blog about it.
Give it a read 👉
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Being too exhausted from life and having to miss out on events I really wanted to attend is just making me sad today.
April 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Being too exhausted from life and having to miss out on events I really wanted to attend is just making me sad today.
Reposted by Nicole States (she/they)
Austism is not a tragedy. It doesn't destroy families or children. Autistic children suffer because they exist in a society that refuses to believe that believes they have to be something other than what they are to have value and a life worth living.
April 17, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Austism is not a tragedy. It doesn't destroy families or children. Autistic children suffer because they exist in a society that refuses to believe that believes they have to be something other than what they are to have value and a life worth living.
Trying a new thing, give it a read if you are inclined.
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Notes from the Back Row
Starting my journey of writing about teaching and learning in higher education.
open.substack.com
April 15, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Trying a new thing, give it a read if you are inclined.
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
open.substack.com/pub/neliizza...
Reposted by Nicole States (she/they)
Almost certainly an anti-Semitic hate crime. And the President who is trying to tear up the American university system on the pretext of fighting anti-Semitism hasn't said a word.
It is horrifying no matter what — and there is still a lot to learn — but it’s particularly concerning that the Jewish PA Governor’s home was set on fire on the first night of Passover. apnews.com/article/josh...
Police say they are investigating an arson attack at the Pennsylvania governor's residence
Police say they evacuated Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family from the governor’s official residence after someone set fire to the building.
apnews.com
April 14, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Almost certainly an anti-Semitic hate crime. And the President who is trying to tear up the American university system on the pretext of fighting anti-Semitism hasn't said a word.
Finally trying BlueSky out as I have missed online community in professional spaces. LinkedIn is not quite having the same effect. I am finding it hard to find and connect with folx, but trying not to get disheartened!
April 4, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Finally trying BlueSky out as I have missed online community in professional spaces. LinkedIn is not quite having the same effect. I am finding it hard to find and connect with folx, but trying not to get disheartened!
Reposted by Nicole States (she/they)
Important reading for POD members. open.substack.com/pub/engagedl...
What Happened to POD’s Virtual Conference?
The POD Network refuses to host a virtual conference. That’s harming all educational developers, especially those who are disabled, vulnerable, or marginalized. But POD leaders don't seem to care.
open.substack.com
April 4, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Important reading for POD members. open.substack.com/pub/engagedl...