For my course, I have a student introduction forum. I ask them each to introduce themselves, where they live and one interesting thing about themselves (or unusual pet that they have). I find it allows the students to build some community early on in the course to rely on as they go through the coursework. I also introduce myself to give the students the opportunity to get to know who I am.
This was only done in text format the first time I taught the course. However, I uploaded a video of myself providing general feedback on an assignment that students have to complete that involves them taking video of themselves. It was well-received and I think I will offer the opportunity for students to do video introductions if they choose to increase the connection.