title: File Integrity Checking: In-Class Exercise
creators: Laura Isabel Sastoque Pabon
abstract: <p>In celebration of World Digital Preservation Day 2024, Digital Preservation Southampton presents an interactive lesson on file integrity checking, designed for educators and trainers to implement in their own classroom or workshop settings. This engaging activity invites participants to take on the role of digital detectives, where they will identify and restore corrupted files.</p>
  <p>By utilizing this lesson, educators will enable their students to:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>
  <p>Develop a foundational grasp of integrity and fixity, exploring common causes of file corruption, such as bit rot, cyberattacks, file format obsolescence, and transfer errors.</p>
  </li>
  <li>
  <p>Learn about checksums and cryptographic hashes, essential elements of the file integrity checking process that ensure data reliability.</p>
  </li>
  <li>
  <p>Familiarize themselves with best practices in digital cultural heritage, including the creation of verifiable file manifests upon the ingestion of new materials.</p>
  </li>
  </ul>
  <p>To facilitate this lesson, educators will find the following materials in the repository:</p>
  <ul>
  <li>
  <p><code>integrity_checking_wdpd.pdf</code>: A set of slides to be shown during the lesson that guides participants through key concepts and the interactive activity.</p>
  </li>
  <li>
  <p><code>task_one_pager.pdf</code>: A handy handout offering quick instructions for the exercise, ensuring students can easily follow along.</p>
  </li>
  </ul>
  <p>As well as a number of folders and spreadsheets to be utilized during the activity, as instructed by the core materials.&nbsp; <strong>To get started, refer to</strong> <code>integrity_checking_wdpd.pdf</code></p>
  <p>This lesson is designed to be easily integrated into existing curricula, providing educators and trainers with the tools to enhance their students' understanding of file integrity checking and its vital role in the long-term preservation of digital cultural heritage.&nbsp;</p>
  <p>Digital Preservation Southampton is an enterprise unit based at the University of Southampton Digital Humanities. We focus on providing training and guidance on good practices in digital preservation to institutions in the GLAM sector and beyond. For more information, please contact <a href="mailto:digitalpreservation@soton.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digitalpreservation@soton.ac.uk</a>.</p>
keywords: digital preservation heritage cultural heritage fixity integrity obsolescence