NameCoach is a tool available in every Canvas course site for instructors and students to record their full name as they wish to be called. Other members of the class may listen to the recordings to learn the proper pronunciation of the names.

To use NameCoach, access the tool from the left-hand navigation of any available Canvas course.

Click “Record Name” next to your name
Select computer audio or enter your phone number
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. Instructors should select “Settings” and visit the “Navigation” area to enable it on the course menu.

Get Started

To use NameCoach:

Access the tool from the left-hand navigation of any available Canvas course.
Click “Record Name” next to your name at the top of NameCoach.
Select computer audio or enter your phone number.
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” tab 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 the 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 students’ names. Learn how to encourage the participation of all students and to make all students feel welcome in the classroom.