What is NameCoach?
NameCoach is a third-party Canvas integration that assists students and educators with correctly pronouncing each other's names and identifying each other’s preferred pronouns. It is enabled in all Canvas courses by default; however, educators may choose to disable it. This page details how to verify or change NameCoach recordings, set preferred pronouns, listen to other's recordings of their names, and send reminders to students.
Accessing NameCoach
There are two places you can access Namecoach in Canvas: the Course Navigation menu or from your Canvas account profile.
Course Navigation
From your Canvas course homepage, click NameCoach in the course navigation.
Please note: NameCoach will only be listed in the navigation menu if the instructor has enabled it.
Account Profile
Open your Account menu and select NameCoach.
Using NameCoach
- The first time you access the NameCoach Integration you will be asked to allow NameCoach to access your account. Click Authorize.
- You only need to edit or verify your name once. Once verified, it will appear in all of the courses that have NameCoach enabled.
Pronunciation in NameCoach
NameCoach attempts to correctly pronounce names and provides a recommended pronunciation by default. Students and educators can choose to:
- verify and use the recommended pronunciation.
- correct the pronunciation while still utilizing a computer-generated voice.
- use their own voice recording for their name pronunciation.
Verifying your pronunciation
- From the Course Navigation or your Canvas account profile click the NameCoach link.
- Click the Edit my info button.
- Click the circular speaker icon to play the pronunciation.
- If this is your first time accessing NameCoach and you wish to keep the pronunciation, click the arrow, and then click the finish button.
- If you previously recorded your name, close the NameCoach window- no additional steps are required.
- Your NameCoach pronunciation will appear with a checkmark icon next to it, confirming you have verified your pronunciation — so others know it’s accurate.
Correcting your pronunciation
- From the Course Navigation or your Canvas account profile click the NameCoach link.
- Click the Edit my info button.
- Click the circular speaker icon to play the pronunciation.
- If this is your first time accessing NameCoach and the pronunciation is not accurate, click the Not quite button and record or upload the correct pronunciation.
- After recording, you are given the option to keep your own voice recording or choose one of two AI voices which will pronounce your name as you recorded, but using the AI voice you selected.
- If you previously recorded your name and the pronunciation is not accurate, click the Edit pronunciation button and either delete the pronunciation or record again.
- If this is your first time accessing NameCoach and the pronunciation is not accurate, click the Not quite button and record or upload the correct pronunciation.
- After correcting your pronunciation, your NameCoach pronunciation will appear with a checkmark icon next to it, confirming you have verified your pronunciation — so others know it’s accurate.
Listen to name pronunciations
In the course navigation menu, click NameCoach. By default, users with both a verified and recommended name pronunciation are listed.
Find the name of the person whose pronunciation you want to play, click the circular speaker icon to play the person’s name.
Pronouns in NameCoach
Students and educators can select their preferred pronouns so they are visible in NameCoach.
Navigate to NameCoach either in the Account Profile or Course Navigation menu and click the Edit my info button.
From the slideout menu, select the My Info tab. From the Pronoun dropdown menu, select your preferred Pronoun. Click the Save changes button.
Teacher Feature - send recording reminder to students
By default all users have a pre-generated NameCoach recommended pronunciation listed in NameCoach. If you wish to ask students to verify or re-record their pronunciation, complete the following steps.
In the course navigation menu, click NameCoach.
Inline with each user, click the button with the envelope icon.
From the pop-up menu, you can review past reminder emails or click the Send new reminder button.
A templated message will be displayed. Click the Send Email button to send the message. Repeat this process for each student you wish to remind.
Help & Resources
- Visit the Office of the Registrar's website to learn more about best practices for communicating with students or to update your personal information including preferred name, pronouns, and more.
- If you notice a problem with available preferred names, please use the Preferred Name Help Request form to report it.
- If you are having issues with your recording, contact NameCoach Support.
- NameCoach is also available in Outlook. Learn how to add and use Namecoach for Outlook.
- If you have questions about the NameCoach, please contact the Office of the Registrar.
