#TimeBack
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benjaminjriley.bsky.social
It's notable that Karen Vaites, as terminally online as its possible to be, promises better days lie ahead. Why? Alpha has triumphantly claimed success already. Joe Liemandt said last year that Timeback was the best software he ever created.

In reality its garbage, but do the leaders know that?
October 23, 2026 at 12:02 PM
benjaminjriley.bsky.social
This claim is hard to square with the fact that, just a few week ago, Timeback Inc. -- Alpha calls its software TimeBack -- filed to register the trademark of "Alpha Motivation Lab."
October 14, 2026 at 1:05 PM
sonnet130.bsky.social
Everyone remember Alpha school? Guess what?! Mike Morath and Mike Miles (the state appointed superintendent) colluded to introduce Alpha school's AI tool, TimeBack into Houston ISD! SBOE rejected Alpha's request for pilot charters, so Morath went around them to his favorite lackey: Mike Miles! 🧵
October 2, 2026 at 4:23 PM
sonnet130.bsky.social
All Future 2 campuses are elementary or middle schools. Currently, 2 of those 9 are using Alpha's TimeBack technology--the same technology the public charter in another state used and which only had a 21% pass rate on state mandated standardized test. HISD says it costs us nothing, but...
EDUCATION Two Houston ISD elementary campuses will pilot Alpha School's Al- powered education program this fall Clemente Martinez and Gregg Elementary schools will utilize "TimeBack," a two-hour learning tool developed by Alpha School that has come under criticism in other states. BIANCA SEWARD | AUGUST 3, 2026, 4:31 PM Houston ISD plans to use the Alpha technology for students with strong test scores "to evaluate whether this instructional approach can accelerate academic growth,' according to Its press office The office said Houston ISD wasn't paving Alpha for the pilot but did not provide more details. The district asked the Texas attornev general to withhold the contract from the newsrooms under the state's public records act District leaders say the program will come at no cost to HISD, adding they will evaluate the instructional approach to inform future decisions about the program The district added in its announcement 'Houston ISD teachers will remain the teachers of record, and the pilot does not replace classroom teachers." Houston ISD has shared minimal details about now the students will spend their day at Gregg, Martinez and the other "Future 2" schools. The district's 2026-27 budget allocated $500,000 per school in the pilot program, totaling a $4.5 million investment by the state's largest schoo district, which has been under the control of the Texas Education Agency since 2023 pecause one of its high schools received a string of failing academic ratings from the state.
October 2, 2026 at 4:40 PM
sonnet130.bsky.social
So maybe the Alpha school TimeBack program is being given to the district freely? Surely thats fine, right? Well, after the state board of education rejected Alpha's public charter request, they just went around them. Directly to Mike Morath, after donate 1.5 million to Abbott's reelection campaign
The platform's expansion into traditional public schools comes as government officials across the country, including in Texas, have taken an increasingly skeptical view of Al use in schools. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently banned generative Al for elementary and middle school students in the nation's largest school district. Leaders in Los Angeles mplemented a similar restriction. In August Texas Gov. Greg Abbott proposed further limiting screen time in public schools,. Abbott, who has received over $1.5 million in political donations from Alpha co-founder MacKenzie Price, did not agree to an interview or directly answer whether he supports the Al platform in Texas schools "A great teacher in the classroom is the most important element of a quality education," Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott's press secretary wrote in a statement to the newsrooms. "Any tool a district deploys must keep teachers at the center of the classroom, limit unnecessary screen time, and prove results for students." Abbott's Democratic opponent in the November governor's race, Gina Hinojosa, recently had a press conference opposing the use of Alpha's Al program in Houston ISD. That came after she'd already made a campaign promise to fire Morath if she is elected obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune through public information requests One email revealed that Morath offered to personally introduce an Alpha |eader to the superintendent he appointed to lead the yearslong state takeover of Houston Independent School District, the largest in the state. "I'd also like to set up another site visit to visit ooth your Austin secondary and primary with my team,' wrote Morath. "The Superintendent of H.I.S.D. would also like to do a site visit. so l'II connect y'all separately. And hopefully we can schedule them to happen on the same day." The emails show that state education officials and Alpha affiliates approached at least 10 school districts about the Al program. After the coordination. at least three of those districts - Houston: Fort Davis, in West Texas; and Aldine near Houston - launched pilot programs incorporating the Al tool Emails show the commissioner visited Alpha's campuses again with six other TEA leaders. His staff coordinated to go on the same day as Houston Superintendent Mike Miles. Not only nad Morath chosen Miles to lead the Houstor district in 2023, but the two had workec together at Dallas ISD when Morath was a school board member and Miles was the superintendent. From: Morath, Mike Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2025 4:57 PM To: @studient.com cc Dstudient.com ; Rivera, Nicole ; MacKenzie Price Subject: RE: met at event d love to schedule a follow-up discussion. I've followed up w/MacKenzie and separately started to schedule a follow-up re: 1882 partnerships Sut I'd also like to talk more about your Tier 3 MTSS/academic intervention work, which is what I believe you're loing with a bunch of schools around the country. I'd like to learn more about that, to see how it dovetail vith the systemic approach taken in Houston and in a few other places in TX 've cc'd Nicole Rivera who can set something up for us Thanks, Mike Obtained by _ProPublica _and The Texas Tribune, Redacted by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Morath follows up with Alpha associates to discuss how their Al learning program could be used in Texas public schools As of August, the TEA said it could not find any documentation of Alpha or its other companies applying for or running an 1882 partnership. But after the school visit, emails
October 2, 2026 at 4:53 PM
mattseybold.bsky.social
What's more unclear to me is how all the different similar-seeming brands - Timeback, 2HRLearning, TeacherTapp, Studient, LearnWithAI, Motivention, etc., etc. - are related to the for-profit (Alpha) & charter (Unbound) operations. I expect they're also developing brands for publics, test prep, etc.
September 29, 2026 at 6:09 PM
llarisah.bsky.social
“[…] Alpha School’s […] eLearning platform […]
[…]
The platform, […], has since been rebranded as Timeback, which the Alpha School website now describes as “a ‘Shopify for schools’ that empowers entrepreneurs to build the next generation of highly effective, for-profit educational institutions.””
mattseybold.bsky.social Matt Seybold @mattseybold.bsky.social · Sep 28
“It’s putting a mind virus into a kid’s head, which is what education is. And it’s being done by a teacher you trust.”
All Our Kids Will Go To Alpha School
On the plans to hyperscale Alpha School’s “AI” tutoring software to “a billion kids.”
www.theamericanvandal.com
September 29, 2026 at 10:59 AM
benjaminjriley.bsky.social
A helpful and comprehensive overview of Alpha School’s high school boot camp activities and the fallout from the student tweets. (One correction: students aren’t learning from an “AI tutor” when using the TimeBack/2 Hour Learning software.)

www.the74million.org/article/insi...
Inside Alpha School’s ‘Bootcamp’: Heart Monitors, Unpaid Labor & Many, Many Tweets
Students at the AI-powered private school are chronicling grueling tests of composure, endurance and grit.
www.the74million.org
September 25, 2026 at 12:42 PM
benjaminjriley.bsky.social
TimeBack sits at the heart of everything Alpha School does. Although billed as an AI-driven school, it is not. It is far more accurate to call it a "using software apps on computer" driven school.
Screenshot from Alpha Schools website reading: "Timeback, learning just schooled" whatever the fuck that means
September 14, 2026 at 10:57 AM
benjaminjriley.bsky.social
Here is a sample of how parents and observers described TimeBack:

-- I watched kids clicking on a bunch of crap.
-- Many kids really hate TimeBack. Kids will cry in frustration with the apps.
-- One student said to me, “I feel like I’m going to fall asleep in the middle of my work.
September 14, 2026 at 10:58 AM
benjaminjriley.bsky.social
My new story focuses on three components of Alpha School:

1. TimeBack, what once and sometimes still is called "2 Hour Learning"
2. The Dean of Parents role
3. The general culture of Alpha School

Let's explore these in turn.
September 14, 2026 at 10:55 AM
jeffgreene.bsky.social
“It makes more sense to think of Alpha schools as the incentive system and environment that gets the kids to use the Timeback package properly — meaning, if there is an effective intervention, it is not Timeback itself…” (1/2)
Why parents love a school with bogus numbers
Alpha School’s growth scores aren’t real. Alpha School’s growth is.
www.theargumentmag.com
August 25, 2026 at 12:50 PM
vulpeko.bsky.social
(c.) missing my overall life back there (I felt so lonely all the timeback there)

Making peace with my adictions and learning to control when I am smoking/consuming stuff more consciously, I'm back to 4 cups of coffee a day which is not great for my stomach
September 27, 2025 at 7:22 PM
copublicedwatch.bsky.social
www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/edu...
Two Houston ISD elementary campuses will pilot Alpha School’s AI-powered education program this fall | Houston Public Media
Clemente Martinez and Gregg Elementary schools will utilize “TimeBack,” a two-hour learning tool developed by Alpha School that has come under criticism in other states.
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
August 11, 2026 at 3:44 AM
campress.bsky.social
streamersuite.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/a...

#AutomationSecrets #StreamerAutomation #BusyworkHacks #BiggerTips #WorkSmart #TipBooster #CreatorTools #ViewerFunnel #RevenueGrowth #StreamingSuccess #TimeBack #SmartStreaming #CreatorIncome #EfficiencyBoost #TipMaximizer
Automation Secrets: Turn Busywork into Bigger Tips
Keeping a packed room, engaging chat, and a steady tip flow used to mean multitasking like a circus act. But the top-earning models have quietly moved on from tab-juggling to purpose-built automati…
streamersuite.wordpress.com
July 21, 2025 at 1:02 PM
hardy-seifert.bsky.social
www.linkedin.com/posts/carl-h...
At Alpha School in Austin TX this week talking about the science of learning, the Timeback platform and AI | Carl Hendrick
At Alpha School in Austin TX this week talking about the science of learning, the Timeback platform and AI
www.linkedin.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:47 PM
mearns.bsky.social
I say this with fondness as boy did I use Pandora all the timeback then. Pretty sure I had like "Snow Patrol Radio" and "Jack's Mannequin Radio" (among many channels)
March 15, 2026 at 6:14 PM
larryferlazzo.bsky.social
Must read article of the day about Alph School & the next tech bro who is sure he can ‘fix’ education w/ his software—Class Dismissed. joincolossus.com/article/joe-...
There’s going to be a tablet that costs less than $1,000 that is going to teach every kid on this planet everything they need to know in two hours a day and they’re going to love it. I really do think we can transform education for everybody in the world.” Perhaps the most enticing example is Liemandt’s own stealth project, in which he’s invested an additional $100 million to build a suite of video games on the Timeback engine—including a game currently being designed by the team that built one of the most played and profitable video games in history. “Solve the motivational problem for kids outside Alpha School’s buildings,” was the brief Liemandt gave them. “We need great products and great business models and we need great people to put them all together. Timeback gives them a way to do that. It’s going to create dozens of unicorns that create hundreds of products that let kids crush, completely crush academics in two hours a day. And then reclaim their childhood.”
August 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
ckanned.bsky.social
Makes the mess of X-Men First Class Mutants timeback-generation Cold War random era vibeing look like the work of true auteurs
April 21, 2026 at 1:51 PM
robinsaikia.bsky.social
Poem: 'Holiday Romance'.
wp.me/p8xhwX-1AN
Poem: ‘Holiday Romance’
Of course he will be overwritten, blurredBy flights and screens and pricey airport snacks,And then in the uncoiling scroll of timeBack home: the cheerless flat, joint debts,A restless child, a husb…
wp.me
January 29, 2026 at 6:34 AM
dearmyrtle.bsky.social
I just watched the Cayman Project. Awesome work! timeback.ky/about/
About | TimeBack
timeback.ky
November 15, 2024 at 9:01 PM
scanmyphotos.bsky.social
Every year, libraries, museums, universities, and families race to save old photos and documents before they’re lost forever.

The real question isn’t whether your history matters.

It’s whether anyone will be able to see it 50 years from now.

What photos are you preserving?

timeback.ky/about
About | TimeBack
timeback.ky
June 12, 2026 at 2:14 AM
scanmyphotos.bsky.social
100,000 photos. One rescue mission. 📸 ScanMyPhotos.com now digitizes massive archives at industrial scale, inspired by the 347,000-image Cayman TimeBack project. Two photos scanned every second. Because 96% of old photos are never seen again.

🔗 www.scanmyphotos.com/blog/2025/09...
May 7, 2026 at 1:30 AM
scanmyphotos.bsky.social
Museums & orgs are sitting on MILLIONS of analog photos 🗃️… priceless history at risk of fading. Digitization = preservation + access. Who’s making sure your archive survive? #Archives #Museums #Digitization

Ex: timeback.ky/about

— ScanMyPhotos.com
About | TimeBack
timeback.ky
August 26, 2025 at 1:56 PM
scanmyphotos.bsky.social
📸 Every day we spotlight real people who rescued their photo memories before it was too late. Their stories? Total tearjerkers... and totally inspiring. Yours could be next. Wanna save your pics too? Just ask — we’ve got you.
#inspiration #photos

Ex: timeback.ky/about/
About | TimeBack
timeback.ky
June 18, 2025 at 11:52 AM