The name pronunciation tool called NameCoach introduced in January for Canvas will now be available to faculty and staff beginning Tuesday, September 12, through both ARIESweb and the Canvas Learning Management System. (It is currently available in Canvas.) The email below was sent last January about NameCoach and we are resharing it as a reminder for returning faculty and to inform new faculty.
Also please see the SOURCE story on the Spring 2023 launch of NameCoach at CSU for more information: New tool to help faculty, students with name pronunciations now available on Canvas. *Also to be available via ARIESweb as of Sept. 12.
Email sent to Faculty in January
On behalf of the Offices of the Provost, Inclusive Excellence, the Registrar and Colorado State University’s Student Success Initiatives, we are excited to share information with you about a tool called NameCoach now available through the Canvas Learning Management System. As a large, diverse and caring community, NameCoach is a new option to help us ensure accurate name pronunciations and proper use of gender pronouns in learning environments.
If you ever have Googled how to say a word, you no doubt have stumbled onto dictionary sites that provide audio files for proper pronunciation. NameCoach is based on the same concept, but it was designed with students and instructors in mind. It allows instructors and students to record and upload an audio file with their name pronunciations and also gives users the option of sharing their pronouns. If an instructor chooses to enable the tool for their course(s), student participation should be optional.
Once an instructor enables NameCoach in a Canvas course, a student’s uploaded file can be accessed by a teacher or teaching assistant, and the instructor’s uploaded file can be viewed by their students.
This simple, yet dynamic resource is intended to help us be more inclusive and welcoming to our students, and we encourage you to test it in your courses this spring. NameCoach is another way for us to reinforce a positive academic experience at CSU where you and your students feel connected, respected and affirmed.
NameCoach is easy to activate by following these instructions: https://canvas.colostate.edu/external-tools/namecoach/. If you have any specific questions about its functionality in Canvas, please send an email to canvashelp@colostate.edu. You also can learn about other methods of inclusive curriculum design by visiting The Institute for Learning and Teaching’s site on Inclusive Pedagogy.
