NameCoach is a record-and-play tool inside Canvas courses that allows students and faculty to record themselves pronouncing their name for others to hear and practice.
Get Started
1. To use NameCoach, access the tool from the left hand navigation of any available Canvas course.
2. Click “Record Name” next to your name at the top of NameCoach.
3. Select computer audio or enter your phone number.
4. Follow the prompts to record your name. Click “Submit and Finish” when done.
If you do not see NameCoach in your course, it is possible that it has been disabled. Select “Settings” and visit the “Navigation” area to enable it on the left hand menu of the course. If you experience any technical issues with this tool, please contact support@name-coach.zendesk.com for assistance.
Key Features & Benefits
With a goal of creating a more inclusive campus community and classroom, NameCoach tackles the problem of name mispronunciation. With NameCoach, students and faculty can voice-record their names for their peers to learn, practice, and remember.
NameCoach is available in all of your Canvas courses. Although you will only need to record your name once, you can re-record your name at any time. User recordings will remain accessible and automatically sync with your future Canvas enrollments or appointments. Faculty can also send requests directly to students from NameCoach.
A Call to Faculty
Northwestern is committed to being an inclusive community. We hope that the newly implemented NameCoach tool will help faculty teach inclusively in a diverse environment and help students feel acknowledged and respected. There are two ways faculty can help make this goal a reality:
- Encourage students to use NameCoach: Once created, a student’s recording will be available in all of their future Canvas courses for use by you and other faculty.
- Use NameCoach: Learn how to say your student’s names. Learn how to encourage the participation of all students and to make all students feel welcome in the classroom.
Calling for Feedback
Properly used, NameCoach has seen strong acceptance and positive feedback from students and faculty at peer institutions. The Educational Technology Advisory Board reviewed NameCoach, and supports its use, but also expressed some concern that students’ expectations of faculty properly using their names may not be met. The goal is both for students to record their names in NameCoach and to know this process has made a difference.
Has NameCoach had an impact in your classes? In your teaching? How? Please write to canvas@northwestern.edu to share your thoughts on NameCoach’s contribution to an inclusive atmosphere at the University.