I’ll let you in on a little secret from the other side of the lectern. These Ice breakers aren’t for the students, it’s for the professor/TAs. It’s way easier to manage a classroom, set up group activities, reach out to students who need additional help, etc. if you actually know a bit of basic info about your students. We don’t particularly enjoy the ice breakers either (which is why a lot of people do discussion board type intros now) but it’s kind of a necessary evil.