Question of the Day: Summer Projects

With summer approaching, lots of teachers are again debating the merits of summer projects.

In my experience, summer projects -- usually reading assignments with some sort of summative component graded by the teacher during the first week back -- are relatively unrevealing of a student's learning. They tend to be more of the 'proof you read the book' variety.

It seems that if you were really going to do an authentic summer project, you'd want to do something with a formative component. After all, it's not like we just give a kid a book during the school year and then test them on what they read three weeks later without ever talking about the story in the interim. So why give a student an assignment over the summer if the teacher isn't going to be there to assess understanding in an on-going way throughout the student's learning?

Unless of course, typical summer projects aren't really about learning.

Obviously, a virtual environment would offer students and teachers to meet throughout the summer. There students could ask the questions they are bound to have and engage in real-time in online discussions with their peers in learning. Of course, that would mean something of a summer commitment by the teacher, as well.

So, today's question: In a 24/7 connected world, should we require students to complete summer projects? And, if we do, should we require teachers to assess the projects on an ongoing formative basis throughout the summer?

I look forward to seeing where this conversation leads.