I think giving the students some freedom in how they learn and do their class work is good. Don't force students to do things a certain way. Students are able to listen to music, text in class with minimal interruptions.

"They don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."

Hmm. Showing how you care does include being knowledgeable and good enough to present the information well to the students. Organizational skills and a good personality are important too.