Carol Johnson (M.M., B.Ed.) is a PhD candidate at the University of Calgary in Educational Technology (Learning Sciences). She received her Master of Music degree from Belmont University (Nashville, TN) and her Bachelor of Education (Secondary Music) from the University of Alberta (Edmonton, AB). She is the inaugural Werklund Doctoral Fellow (2014-2015). Additionally, awards for her scholarship, academic achievement and music performance have been granted from the University of Calgary, Belmont University and Pi Kappa Lambda.
An innovative and established music educator and professional recording artist (two solo saxophone instrumental releases), Carol has also given her leadership to assist both local and international arts communities. Her community has benefited from her expertise as she has served six years as an arts grant assessor for the Calgary Arts Development Association (administering over $3.8 million to local professional arts organizations in 2011) and Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Expanding her sphere of influence, Carol has assisted in the establishment of two music schools for rural music students in Resistencia, Argentina and Guazacapan, Guatemala. In addition to the development of the music schools, Carol gave leadership to organizing a forty-foot shipping container of music instrument donations from the Nashville music community to be sent to Resistencia – a contribution recognized by the Argentine government and grateful music students.
Carol has twenty music education publications recognized by the Nashville music community. Her contribution to teaching young students about music has been recognized and endorsed by numerous Grammy award winners, including Robert Sterling and Chester Thompson and renown saxophonist, Kirk Whalum.
Building on her educational leadership and professional writing expertise to develop music curricula, Carol has witnessed how music education not only enhances the human experience, but how it can empower a community to rise above social inequalities. Seeking to provide music education for all people groups, whether geographically isolated or financially impoverished, Carol continues to research ways to use current technology to connect music students with expert music educators. Using case study research, her doctoral research developed a teaching framework for online music courses at the undergraduate level. It is hoped that this online delivery framework will give guidance to post-secondary music educators in their design, use of technology tools, and online music pedagogy to enhance their online music courses. Through this research, Carol has found that online music courses can be authentic to the music discipline in an online learning context and connect global communities with high quality music performance education and equitable music education.