# SLOP4408 — Week 6: Follow the Digital Trace

Campus / printable lab pack · Semester 1, 2027

## The task

Choose a record that supports a stated request. Explain why its label, timestamp or apparent completeness alone is insufficient.

In-person teaching is preferred. The paper route is a complete conceptual activity when apparatus is unavailable; online students use the equivalent controls and keep the same learning record.

The investigation, experiment, agreement or revision is this week's practical output. A staged field handover is optional and cannot replace the reasoning record.

## Learning outcomes

- Separate authority, content comparison and completeness evidence.
- Compare candidate records against explicit criteria rather than labels alone.
- Preserve the decision timeline when an authenticated instruction changes.

## Equipment

Printed evidence cards or the downloadable text pack, a blank timeline and coloured markers with text labels. No external account or live system is involved.

## Facilitator setup

Give each group all three archive records and the original signed reference M-42. Preserve the initial choice, then publish the amended signed reference M-99 for the transfer stage.

## Complete supplied rules

**Where to find the named materials:** These labels identify the supplied material on this page and in the combined campus pack; they are not separate files you need to locate. **DI-01** is the three archive records with their timestamps, section counts and digests. **DI-02** supplies the original signed reference and its amendment. Record your comparison and source changes in the decision timeline; there is no separate event-log download.

- Archive A: 10:10; 24 sections; digest M-42 matches the signed source manifest.
- Archive B: 10:35; 24 sections; digest M-99 differs because of a later annotation.
- Archive C: 10:05; 23 sections; digest M-17; the copy ended before its final section.
- Practice and check mandate: recover the complete 24-section copy matching signed reference M-42.
- Transfer mandate: an amended signed reference explicitly requires the annotated copy M-99.
- Inspect at least two copies before selecting. Digest identifiers are authored comparison results; no external service is contacted.

## Two-hour schedule

These are the teaching session's time blocks, not six compulsory game objectives. Adjust timing as needed; reasoning matters more than speed.

| Time | Activity |
| --- | --- |
| 0–10 minutes | Sort the request, copies and comparison records by the questions they answer. |
| 10–30 minutes | Inspect the alternate unsigned-request example and identify its authority boundary. |
| 30–60 minutes | Build a comparison table and justify a provisional selection. |
| 60–80 minutes | Exchange tables and propose a credible rival interpretation or missing requirement. |
| 80–105 minutes | Apply the authenticated amendment without erasing the previous decision. |
| 105–120 minutes | Keep the timeline, rejected alternative and a claim the comparison cannot establish. |

## Worked example · a different scenario

In the separate weather-ledger example, authenticated R1 requires eighteen sections and Q-7. North matches both; its being newest is incidental. A later unsigned request proposes East/Q-9, but the authority register has not authenticated it, so North remains justified. Authenticated R2 later requires eighteen sections and Q-12, and a repair receipt supplies South version S2 with those properties. The demonstrator checks the new authority and repaired copy separately, then selects South S2 while keeping the incomplete original South and both earlier decisions.

[Watch this separate example and inspect its finished record](/demonstrations/lab-06/).

The example explains a method. Its completed decisions are not the assigned task. Use the materials above for your own choices.

## Practice

Compare two or more records against the source manifest. Record authority, completeness and integrity separately.

## Skill check

Ask a peer to defend a rival copy. Resolve the disagreement through the supplied record, not confidence.

## Transfer challenge

Apply the authenticated amendment and append the resulting decision to the timeline. Preserve the earlier authority.

## Student record

**Named output: evidence-timeline.**

Keep the governing authority, comparison of at least two records, inclusion/exclusion reasons, authenticated amendment and remaining limitation. Do not invent event times.

Record your name/role, phase and scenario, prediction before action, evidence requested, result, decision, alternative and remaining uncertainty. Include assistance, format used and any physical-model limitation. Keep a failed attempt that explains a revision.

The investigation, experiment, agreement or revision is this week's practical output. A staged field handover is optional and cannot replace the reasoning record.

## Explanation — reveal after an attempt

A satisfies the original 24-section M-42 requirement. B satisfies the amended M-99 requirement. C is incomplete. Changing the choice is justified by a changed authority, not simply by preferring the newest file.

A facilitator judges the reasoning. The record's existence and the model's successful result do not by themselves establish learning.

## Reflection and later use

Which apparently reassuring label was doing more work than the evidence justified?

A2 uses this record to justify instructions to another role. Every final approach needs source evidence, but matching a digest does not itself choose the recovery objective.

## Evidence and limitations

Save **evidence-timeline** with your explanation. Physical activities are proposed teaching designs, not hardware-tested equipment. Distinguish model-card results from actual measurements. Neither browser success nor paper completion establishes physical dexterity or classroom enjoyment. A dated station record is sufficient; a duplicate browser run is not required.