NameCoach
NameCoach is an easy-to-use audio recording tool integrated with Brightspace that allows students and instructors to record the pronunciation of their name as well as listen to and learn how to say the names of others in a Brightspace course. Students and instructors will only need to record their name once, however, they can re-record the name at any time. User recordings will remain accessible and automatically sync with their future Brightspace course enrollments.
Additionally, students and instructors can use NameCoach to identify and share their personal gender pronouns. If you choose to use this feature, the pronouns will be visible to all students and instructors in your Brightspace NameCoach Roster.
NameBadge
NameBadge is a product provided by NameCoach that allows all Bentley staff, faculty, and students to record their name pronunciation, create a Namebadge that can be added to their email account signature and social media, such as LinkedIn, to help others learn the proper pronunciation of their name.
To access and use NameBadge, select the button below and login with your Bentley credentials (Bentley email address and password).
Outlook Add-in
The Microsoft Outlook add-in provides an extension to the NameCoach tool's capabilities in which all Bentley users will be able to listen to the pronunciation of an email sender's name right in their Outlook inbox. The add-in is available for all Bentley staff, faculty, and students. Installation is self-service and the instructions are posted on this ServiceNow site.
Why NameCoach?
Bentley University is committed to building institutional capacity for inclusion by providing opportunities and resources for community members and celebrate the value of diversity and inclusion. Aligned with this vision, the NameCoach platform will help to:
- Foster a sense of belonging for students in the classroom.
- Enable instructors to learn student names easily and more accurately.
- Alleviate challenges and negative experiences with name mispronunciation.
Sample ideas for instructors to promote the use of NameCoach
- Before a class meeting, listen to name recordings if you are unsure of pronunciations.
- Share the story of your name as an icebreaker and a way to get to know each other.
- Ask students you work with to record their names and to use the recordings to learn their peers’ names.
- Remind students of the NameCoach recordings as a resource before and during any group work.
FAQs
NameCoach in Brightspace is available to all Bentley students and instructors. NameBadge is available for all staff, faculty, and students.
First, verify that you are able to login with your Bentley credentials in any other campus application like Outlook and the problem is only experienced with NameCoach. Next, check if you can log into NameCoach from an incognito window or another browser. If it still doesn’t work, please contact the IT Helpdesk at helpdesk@bentley.edu.
If you experience trouble recording your name, please refer to the NameCoach troubleshooting instructions.
No, you just need to record your name once in any Brightspace course or in the Namebadge. Your recording will be available to other Brightspace courses where NameCoach tool is enabled.
NameCoach complies with the applicable requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA") and does not collect, maintain, use, or disclose any personally identifiable information from student education records except in compliance with FERPA. If you have any questions about NameCoach’s data privacy practices, please contact info@name-coach.com. You can learn more at their Student Records Privacy & Security Statement.
Trouble Recording?
If you experience trouble recording your name, please refer to the NameCoach troubleshooting instructions. If the issue persists, please contact the IT Helpdesk at helpdesk@bentley.edu.