Rachel Frazier

SLOs in Action Assignment

Mini-Portfolio #2
UWRT 1101

The artifact that I chose to discuss would be a text message from my roommate Yosra. Before taking
this class I never understood the use of SLOs both inside and outside of the classroom. It wasnt
until now that I am able to identify them in my everyday life. In my eyes, Critical Reading is the
most effective SLO. Being able to interpret something that you cant hear such as a text message, is
very important so that you can deeply engage into the text and use general knowledge to understand
it.

Due to the advanced use of technology in our current generation our actions may not always seem
clear and can be easily misinterpreted. It is very crucial to be very clear and say exactly what you
mean while communicating through text messages. Often times, things that happen while conversing
with someone in public including observing peoples facial expressions can not happen during text
messaging. Observing peoples facial expressions is very beneficial in understanding how sincere a
person truly is about a particular subject. In person, people can still lie to you but is much harder
because they are being put on the spot because they are being forced to lie to your face. Facial
expressions provide the reader with comfort and conformation of the persons true feelings.

Text messaging allows for people to type messages with a mask on their face. It is much easier to
type one thing and feel another when you practically have all of the time in the world to observe and

make up a lie that sounds legitimate or believable. Text messages are not a credible source of
information as they often can be claimed to be meant in another way. Despite all of these negatives,
understanding how to read critically avoids confusion because you are able to read between the lies
and comprehend the information no matter the circumstances.

Another beneficial SLO that can be used in digital communication or text messaging is the
Composing Process. The Composing Process is used in every piece of writing. The Composing
Process can be important in Digital Communication in doing things such as sending emails for the
company you work for. In sending out professional emails, it is very important that you follow
normal composing processes as you would on a laptop when communicating people that are
inquiring on the job. Sometimes professional conversations take place between co-workers during
text messages as well, so it is very important to use emphasis on emotions so that your words are not
misinterpreted.

Knowledge of conventions can be a positive SLO to use as well in a conversation through text
messaging. For me, the perfect example of this can be explained in the use of emojis. It is very
important that you understand them and their meanings before attempting to communicate and add
them along with the text content. Emojis all have interpretations themselves and the use of the
wrong emoji has the ability to change the meaning of a sentence entirely. Being aware of these
meanings eliminates all of the confusion.