In our fast-moving world, knowing how societies form and function, how governments rule and are ruled, what it means to live in our place on earth ? has never been more important. If you want to get a well-focused broad understanding of these ideas, this is an ideal course from Calgary Learning?s CAEC Social Studies.

What the Course Covers

Calgary Learning?s CAEC Social Studies Course focuses on critical thinking, data interpretation and test-taking strategies ? you get more than mere passive learning, these are skills you can use. Calgary Learning

Here?s an overview of the curriculum:

An Overview of Canadian History, from Early Colonisation to the Present Articles in this Section: Prelude to colonization and discovery Colonial developed and declared Map of Canada Historical Maps Pre-Colonization British Colonies Discover | Article 5. Calgary Learning

Government & Civics: the way that societies are structured and constituted, including citizenship in relation to the state. Calgary Learning

Economics & Labour : the gears that drive economies, workforces and policy. Calgary Learning

Geography & Environment: resources, people and environment interaction. Calgary Learning

Global Expansion & Modern World: placing the story of Canada in a global context. Calgary Learning

All together that?s 134 lessons and 1.5 hours of video content crammed into this single course, which you can get for $150. Calgary Learning

Why It?s Useful

Skills-based: The focus on critical thinking and interpreting data will allow you to develop more transferrable skills rather than just memorise facts.

Broad perspective: From the ancient empires covered in the ?World History? segment to contemporary civil society and economics, the course offers a wide spectrum.

Flexible entry: Online self-paced; you participate when it works and enjoy the community.

Test prep value: The format, which includes lots of quizzes and modules, is appealing both to those preparing for assessments and to others who seek the discipline of regular checkpoints.

Who It?s Best For

Students in need of a solid social studies base, such as Canadian history and civics.

Aduts who would like to brush up on what they know about government, economics and geography.

People who love structured, modular online courses.

Those who prefer the small bites of a classroom and frequent quizzes to retain their learning.

A Few Things to Consider

It may not seem like a lot of video for 1.5 hours given there are 134 lessons, but the real value is in working with the quizzes and additional information.

The range of subjects is good, but if you?re looking for in-depth specialist focus (eg higher-level economics, or specialised global policy), you might want to add extra courses.

For online self-selection discipline helps ? sure, flexible timing is a plus; but actually continuing to do things is key to realizing benefit.

Final Thoughts

If you?re hoping to build a better understanding of how societies function ? and particularly from a Canadian view and from a global perspective as well ? then CAEC Social Studies (Calgary Learning) does an admirable job. Its blend of history, government, economics and geography is a good foundation. And if you fold in your own thoughts, writing and discussion from this series, you?ll get a lot more than what the video time indicates.