Learning about the CCR

In class a few days ago we learned about the process of creating the Creative Critical Reflection (CCR). It was super interesting, as it made me think about a part of the project I didn't realize was so crucial and didn't know much about. As she mentioned different strategies to create a succesful CCR, many ideas came to my head for how I could implement them in my own CCR. Here are some of my biggest takeaways, a few Do's and Don'ts that will come in handy for me when its time to create my CCR.

DONT: USE ONLY TALKING HEADS 

Something like this alone, is not what we want for the CCR.

During class, we watched many different excerpts from previous students, showing both exemplars and... anti-exemplars. Out of these anti-tips the biggest one that came to my intention, and that I definately won't forget was to avoid the usage of simply using only talking heads. We viewed one student's excerpt's (who fun fact was my former speech and debate captain), and while his speaking style was great, his CCR was greatly weakened by the use of only talking heads.

DO: USE DYNAMIC VIDEO 

Instead, its much better to intersperse different styles of media be it supplementary b-roll or on screen graphics to make your CCR more visually engaging. One of the examples we viewed which did this fantastically was one of a girl who was doing a mock interview style. Even without graphics, this unique style of CCR already added to making a more dynamic and interesting piece of content; however, this student also took it another step up by adding in graphics that supplemented what she was speaking about. I kind of view this with how some educational youtubers use graphics to supplement their content, and make it both more engaging and informative. 

Educational Youtuber Cleo Abram intersperses Supplementary graphics with a Talking Head as she discusses the James Webb Space Telescope. Great inspiration for CCR.

RAPID FIRE 

An honorable spot for important tips, that are equally important but don't merit a whole sub-section of themselves. First, Research Research Research RESEARCH, incorporating research raises credibility and logical appeal. Another do, DO USE A SCRIPT. The best examples, where those that clearly looked thought out and is if each response had been given a great deal of thought to and weren't just haphazardly made up on the spot. And last but not least, 10 minutes is the max but 7 minutes is the Goldilocks zone. Our instructor, warned us that CCR's that are any longer than 7 minutes tend to start to ramble on and move from substantive discussion to fluff. For now, thats all I have to add for the CCR, but I'm sure that as we move onto the next part of the process I'll add more.