Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

430 followers 210 following 490 posts

Higher Education, GenAI in education, English for Academic Purposes, gardening/environment and personal stuff. Based in Wolverhampton, England. Same handle on Twitter and Mastodon

Posts Replies Media Videos

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

Wasn't expecting to find a Welsh poppy flowering amid the fallen leaves on a grey November day, but it is Remembrance Sunday. 'Lest we forget." @rspb.bsky.social

Solitary Welsh poppy (yellow) blooming among the fallen leaves in Carol's garden

November 9, 2025 at 1:34 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

The four-letter code on nxbus daysaver tickets often makes me smile @bususersuk.bsky.social

A one-day West Midlands bus ticket featuring the words AULD Adult

October 17, 2025 at 3:55 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

Which of these snacks would be least inappropriate while watching a documentary on ultra processed food? @thebodycoach.bsky.social share.google/Gq2dEhUpA5kc...

Two bags of snacks: (1) Off the Eaten Path pea & bean sticks, (2) Tyrells posh prawn cocktail flavour crisps

October 16, 2025 at 9:05 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

#IDoA2025 participants all found Ruba's poem incredibly powerful. You can read more of her writing here: rubakhalid.substack.com #academicintegrity

Ruba Khalid read her poem at the webinar today:

Sometimes I open a notebook by candlelight.
Sometimes I write in the margins of memory.
The power fails before I can finish a sentence.
It hangs there—half formed, a bird trapped behind glass, waiting for someone to set it free.

They call it academic integrity.
I call it holding on to the last pieces of myself the war has not claimed.
It is writing the truth when my hands tremble.
It is refusing shortcuts when the internet is a ghost.
It is breathing between explosions.
It is pressing a pencil to paper while the sky falls apart.

Some rise before dawn to knead bread.
I rise before the next explosion.
I gather fragments of thought that might otherwise scatter and vanish.
Integrity is not a rule.
It is resistance.
It is saying no to the war’s expectation that I be hurried, desperate and careless.
It is living, in small hours, in small acts.
Each word is a rebellion.
Each sentence is a small flame.

When the sky falls in Gaza, I want my words to stand upright.
I want someone, somewhere, to read them and remember:
Even in destruction, creating is defiance.
Even a trembling sentence is a heartbeat.
Even silence can be an act of courage.

I write because I must.
I write because the war cannot take this from me.
And maybe, just maybe, these words will wait for someone, like a small gift left in the rubble, and whisper:
You are still human.

October 15, 2025 at 2:47 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

The challenges Gazan students face are unimaginable and their response inspiring. #IDoA2025 #academicintegrity

A slide by student Shrooq Abu Dahrouj. Her text:
Challenge: There has been limited internet access. Every time the connection dropped during a live session or an exam, I felt a surge of stress and fear, knowing that the clock wouldn’t stop for me and that all my efforts could vanish in an instant.
Problem: This makes it extremely difficult to attend live sessions, submit assignments, or even complete exams on time. These limitations constantly test my commitment to academic integrity, especially when it would have been easier to give up or seek unfair help.
Response: To manage this, I plan ahead as much as possible, downloading materials in advance, organizing my study schedule around the few hours when I expect internet access, and keeping open communication with my instructors about any delays or difficulties.

October 15, 2025 at 2:40 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

I was honoured, humbled and moved to tears hearing from Gazan students at #IDoA2025 about how they see #academicintegrity as an act of resistance against genocide, destruction and displacement

A slide by student Roa. Her text:
Challenge: Balancing Academic Deadlines with Honesty with the Demands of Survival in Gaza
Problem: The hard labour created by the genocide, like the stress and time to bake one’s own bread, severely cuts into study time. The internet is like a ghost, and the repeated evacuations and constant fear make it difficult to keep track of everything.
All of this cuts into the time we have to study, making plagiarism and shortcuts a temptation.
Response: Despite these pressures, I am committed to maintaining my academic integrity. I view my studies as an act of resistance – a way to hold onto my identity and future that the genocide cannot steal from me. I cope by reimagining what study means. I can’t have long, uninterrupted sessions, so I seize the moments in between.

October 15, 2025 at 2:36 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

Found this on my desk this morning. No explanation! What is it?

Heavy beige squash about a hand-span long with postcard addressed to Carol

September 30, 2025 at 9:31 AM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

I did leave some for the kids, honest!

A bounty of gleaming brown fresh conkers, salvaged from the gutter of a busy road near Carol's house

September 28, 2025 at 3:59 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

September 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

Is it a speckled wood? I had more than usual this year

Speckled Wood butterfly basking on wood offcut in Carol's garden

August 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

Not so many bees on my lavender as in previous weeks. Looks like they've scoffed most of the nectar so I can harvest the flowers to make lavender bags

Overgrown lavender in Carol's front garden

August 22, 2025 at 3:44 PM

Carol

@beilinglaoshi.bsky.social

I love seeing it chock-full of cinnabar moth caterpillars in the dunes on Holy Island, Northumberland. Not so many as in previous years, maybe due to dry conditions?