Lesson: Sticky Sites (6-8)

Introduce

INVITE students to name the websites they visit most often and those where they spend the most time.
(Students may name social networking sites, useful informational sites, search sites, or sites connected with
their favorite activities.)

ASK: What keeps you coming back to the site again and again? What makes you stay on the site for a while
once you’re there? Sample answers:

• I always find things there that I like
• It helps me with my homework
• It has all of my favorite games
• I can check in with my friends on the site
• I can chat with other kids about my favorite books/TV show/sport/hobby
• It has a lot of information about the things I’m interested in
• It has the best photos of my favorite musician/athlete

EXPLAIN to students that the kinds of websites they are describing are called “sticky” sites. They have content and features that make visitors want to “stick around” for a while, and come back often.

DISCUSS the reasons why people who run websites would like them to be sticky. Some educational sites have great content that their creators simply want to share with as many visitors as possible, as often as possible.
Commercial sites use advertisements to make money; the more time visitors spend on these sites, the more ads
they’ll see. Whatever their motives, just about everyone who has a website wants it to be as sticky as possible.

Teach 1: What Makes a Site Sticky?

DISTRIBUTE the Recipe for a Sticky Site Student Handout, one for each student.

CHOOSE one of the following sites to explore as a class.

• Discovery Games: http://dsc.discovery.com/games/games.html
• History Channel: http://www.history.com/
• SI Kids: http://www.sikids.com/
• Time for Kids: http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids
• Lego: http://www.lego.com/en-US/default.aspx
• Cartoon Doll Emporium: http://www.cartoondollemporium.com/

Complete the handout together, using the following questions to encourage student responses:

ASK: How many different kinds of content can you find on this site? Students may name stories, news, facts, photos, illustrations, videos, games, puzzles, quizzes, contests, blogs, and advertisements, among others.

ASK: Do you think the content is new? Does it look like the content changes often? Some content may have dates that show students it is current. Other sites will contain content that changes before their eyes.

ASK: Is there a place on the site to sign in or enter personal information? Sites might invite students to sign up for email or set up an account. Some offer incentives to enter personal information.

ASK: Are there other ways for you to respond to things on the site? What do you think your responses might reveal about you? Students might be asked to answer a quiz or take a poll or choose their favorite features. How they respond shows their preferences and opinions.

ASK: Are there ways to connect with other people on this site? Some sites might invite students to join a chat group or forum based on their interests. Others give them the opportunity to post comments and respond to other visitors’ comments.

GROUP students into pairs or small groups, and assign each group one of the remaining websites.

DISTRIBUTE the remaining copies of the Recipe for a Sticky Site Student Handout and have students work together to find as many sticky “ingredients” as they can on their sites.

INVITE students to rate their sites by assigning points in each of the “Three C’s,” as follows:

• 1 point for each piece of content that feels “sticky” to them
• 1 point for each customized feature
• 1 point for each feature that makes them feel like part of a community

ENCOURAGE students to discuss their findings with the class.

Teach 2: How Do Sticky Sites Sell?

INVITE students to think about all the places they are exposed to advertising in their everyday lives. Remind them that advertising is anything that tries to promote or sell something. It might be trying to sell a product, a service, a store, or a brand.

ASK: Where have you seen advertising in the past week? Give students a few minutes to jot down their responses. Then make a class list combining all their ideas. Encourage students to discuss how each type of advertising gets its message across. Sample responses:

• television
• radio
• newspapers and magazines
• websites
• billboards
• advertising mailers
• the sides of trucks and buses or subway posters
• storefronts
• shopping bags
• T-shirts and other clothing

DISCUSS with students the meaning of the word commercial. Point out that a website is considered commercial if it contains advertising. Commercial websites usually (but not always) have a URL ending with .com.

EXPLAIN to student that there are software programs that count the number of people who visit a site, which pages are visited, and in what order. The software program can also tell how long a visitor stays at each page and which ads the visitor clicks on. These measurements help show what parts of the site visitors like most.

REVIEW the site you analyzed as a class. This time, ask students to look for as many advertisements as they can find. Remind them that anything asking them to “Shop” or “Buy” anything are ads. Things that encourage them to read a certain magazine or watch a certain TV show are also ads.

EXPLORE with students the possible motives for making a site sticky. Sticky sites can be fun, entertaining, and interesting. They can also help advertisers sell things, because they hold your attention and keep you coming back for more. The more time you spend at a site, the more likely you are to be exposed to its advertising. More exposure means that people recognize and feel good about the advertised products, and may be more likely to buy them.

REMIND students that not all websites are commercial sites. Show them an example of a site that is free of advertising and any commercial motives, for example the PBS Kids “Don’t Buy It” website: http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/.

Wrap Up & Assess

Use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives.

ASK: What is meant by “stickiness”? (Stickiness refers to a site’s ability to keep visitors there for long periods of time and to have them return frequently.)

ASK: Which features have you seen that make a site sticky? (Students should know the “Three C’s” – content,customizing, and  community – and be able to provide an example of each.)

ASK: What is a commercial website? (Students should understand that a commercial site is any site that advertises,promotes, or sells something.)

ASK: Why do commercial sites try to be sticky? (The longer people stay at the site, the more advertising they will see.)

REFLECT on why it might be important to know what makes a site sticky. When students recognize what attracts them to a site and keeps them there, they can make conscious decisions about how much they want to “stick” to the site. If they decide to stay, they can focus on the features they like, and not on the advertising.

Extension & Homework

EXTENSION ACTIVITY
Have students imagine that they are in charge of creating a commercial site to sell a product of their choice. Have them work in teams to plan features that will make the site sticky and expose visitors to their advertising. Students can create each feature on a sheet of paper, using illustrations and text, and assemble the sheets into a “homepage.”  Invite teams to present their home pages to the class.

HOMEWORK
Have students design a sticky site that would attract a classmate or friend. Encourage them to think about the friend’s interests (sports, music, celebrities, hobbies, books). Then have students come up with features that would make the site sticky for their friend. Have students refer back to the Recipe for a Sticky Site Student Handout as an example, and encourage them to refer to the “Three C’s”.” Students may sketch out the sites or create their own if the project spans several days.