Grade 12 Specifics

In accordance to the Alberta Education Grade 12 Social Studies curriculum, FACTSnet is working to make its blogs useful and accessible to Social 30 students, as part of their learning experience.

The use of blogs is intended to as a tool for critical thinking in light of the new Internet technologies and methods to display information (page 17 of the curriculum). It is also intended to develop critical thinking skills in terms of how information is made available on the Internet, and allows students to “discern historical facts from historical interpretations through an examination of multiple sources”(page 14 of the curriculum).

FACTSnet provides a historical perspective of changing worldviews, specifically in the 1900s Alberta; as well, posts on FACTSnet blogs follow the value-based medium to regulate the information made available to the public (see 4.4 of page 24 of the curriculum). The blogs can also be used to research the history of issues that have arisen locally, nationally, and even globally (4.9 of page 24 of the curriculum). For this, we have set up an Issues Blog in the historical perspective (the link leads to the St Albert Issues Blog) for students to investigate specific historical topics.
Students can also participate in FACTSnet and develop blogs that research historical issues affecting today’s society, to encourage students to "demonstrate active and responsible citizenship through individual and collective action" (4.10 of page 24 of the curriculum). A Blogger CTS module is available for students to take, and they will receive one (1) credit for it.

For reference, the specific points from the Alberta Education curriculum has been made available here:

Page 17:
S.9 develop skills of media literacy:
• assess the authority, reliability and validity of electronically accessed information
• evaluate the validity of various points of view presented in the media �� appraise information from multiple sources, evaluating each source in terms of the author’s perspective or bias and use of evidence
• analyze the impact of various forms of media, identifying complexities and discrepancies in the information and making distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplification
• demonstrate discriminatory selection of electronically accessed information that is relevant to a particular topic

Page 14:
S.2 develop skills of historical thinking:
• analyze multiple historical and contemporary perspectives within and across cultures
• analyze connections among patterns of historical change by identifying cause and effect relationships
• compare similarities and differences among historical narratives
• evaluate the impact of significant historical periods and patterns of change on the contemporary world
• discern historical facts from historical interpretations through an examination of multiple sources
• identify reasons underlying similarities and differences among historical narratives
• develop a reasoned position that is informed by historical and contemporary evidence
• demonstrate an understanding of how changes in technology can benefit or harm society— in the context of the present, the future and various historical time periods
• use current, reliable information sources from around the world

Page 24:
4.4 explore the relationship between personal and collective worldviews and ideology (C, I, GC)
4.9 develop strategies to address local, national and global issues that demonstrate individual and collective leadership (C, GC)
4.10 explore opportunities to demonstrate active and responsible citizenship through individual and collective action (C, GC)