I provide my students with my bio, the syllabus, and general housekeeping rules in my welcome email. The bio helps them learn something about me. Icebreakers work very well when I speak before business groups and they are a very valuable tool in a classroom. The students also need to know the answer to the WIIFM question. They also need to be engaged and know that their opinions matter. For example, in my Customer Service class, I encourage differing viewpoints because that's how we all learn from each other.
It's also important to set expectations and deadlines, and answer any questions about the syllabus before and as the class progresses.
