If you want your class to be a vibrant learning community, then students need to feel responsible to one another and acknowledged by one another. To achieve this end, it's crucial that they know each other's names and use these names when talking to one another (as opposed to just having a conversation with you in the presence of others (but that's a subject for a future tip!))
How to do it? I play "the name game". I don't remember where I learned about it, but it's simple, effective, quick, and fun. You ask a random student to say his or her name. The next student says his or her name and the first person's name. The third student says his or her name, and the second and third person's name, and so on, until every student has participated, and you are the only one left. You're last in line. (You can't ask your students to display their memory skills unless you are willing to display yours.)
This game takes about 10 minutes at the beginning of class, and I never have to do it more than three times at the beginning of the semester. The benefits in terms of class comradery are well worth the investment.
--Jyl Gentzler, Department of Philosophy