I think that 20 time is a good idea but it has some flaws to it. I think that its a good idea because students get to focus on what they want to do and have interest in doing this project. Coming up with a idea that has enough information to keep students busy and interested might be hard to find though. Also students might want to focus their attention on getting work done for school more then working on a project. I personally don't like the do this  however you want format because I don't know if I'm on track or behind. I like having a template and tracking my work with an outline or guideline.  I think that it would really help students find out what they want to do later in life though, because they will find out more about their interests and what they like to do.