The Week contest: New Class - July 22, 2011

Welcome to The Week's "What Next?" contest, an invitation to test your powers of imagination with challenges inspired by current events.

Click here for results of last week's contest: Pop Song

Results: In light of Indiana’s decision to drop the requirement that students learn cursive writing, we asked you for a replacement class to teach today’s students skills they’ll need in the 21st century.

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THE WINNER: The 140-Character Essay

Bess Nagler, New York, NY

SECOND PLACE: Emoticon Syntax : -)

Nora Stewart, New Haven, CT

THIRD PLACE: Conversational Chinese for the Workplace

Frank Riley, South Lake Tahoe, CA

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Speedtweeting

Tom Sheppard, Flat Rock, NC

Cybersex Education

Mark Chartier, Lyme, CT

Unsocial Studies

Mike Paul, Carrboro, NC

Social (Media) Studies

Theda Kontis, Reisterstown, MD

Text Education

Amy Torchinsky, Greensboro, NC

Conversational English

George Repa, Salem, VA

Indiana State History in 140 Characters or Less

Douglas Kronaizl, Vermillion, SD

1,001 Uses for a Pen

Susan S. Shimokawa, Honolulu, HI

Using Your Robo-Signer

John Besnard, Irvine, CA

Thumbercise

H.B. Stultz Jr., East Stroudsburg, PA

Thumbnastics

Angela James, Westminster, MD

Home Techonomics

Van Tunstall, Aptos, CA

Rapping (so schools can still teach the 3 R’s)

Joan Burr, Mountain Drive, AR

The Three T’s: Typing, Texting, Tweeting

Harry Wyatt, Athens, OH

Lmntry Txtng

Eleanor R. Smith, Lebanon, MO

How to Read Your Grandma’s Birthday Wishes

Barbara Askew, Salem, SC

Home-page Ec

David C. Neal, Fanwood, NJ

Passwording

Lee Ferry, Woodbury, VT

Pwr Txting 2 Gt Ahed in Lyf

Marian Turk, Croton on Hudson, NY

How to Change an Ink Cartridge

Carey Eidel, Skaneateles, NY

Fact-to-Face Communications

Matthew Schneider, New Haven, CT