Laptop computers have revolutionized today's lecture halls. They allow students to take notes, access assignments and slack off with unprecedented ease and efficiency– and almost everybody's got one.

For lots of kids, a full battery coupled with a little state-sponsored Wi-Fi can be the only difference between sitting through and sleeping through class. 

From an instructor’s lectern, big classes can look the, “glowing ghosts of a hundred, half-eaten apples” filling a dim auditorium. After the first few rows, they can't see you, and, "honestly, [they] don't really care, what you're doing." However, the rest of us can not only see you, but everything that's up on your 13 inch screen to boot. Sure, this seems like common sense, but way too many people don't actually consider their audience until it's too late. 

All but the luckiest guys have been there: Minimizing one window, your boredom gives way to sheer terror as you're ambushed by the racy pop-up that you were too busy to close last night– bonus points if it’s an audio ad. In an attempt to kill the beast, you slam the screen shut with a force like Terrance Ross taking one to the hoop. If people weren't looking at you before, they are now- just concentrate on becoming less red, smile and wave. Class goes on. 

That’s right, there are 40 more minutes of captivating lecture on the way, and you’ve just loudly forsaken your only viable means of entertainment. So what do you do? Sit through class the old fashioned way? Forget it. You could open it back up, and quickly try for the little red “X.” But what about the audio? You’ve come too far for all that; you’re now committed to the closed computer. Honestly, the best policy is just to grab your bag and walk out with a little poise. You’ve lost the game, bro; try again tomorrow.        

But short of explicit content, there’s still plenty of class-time computer activity that could be considered questionable. The kids Googleing Maui Waui and Northern Lights might think it looks super dank, but the row behind them, they think those kids are dumb. And everybody likes to do a little online shopping in class, but reading Amazon reviews of assorted tactical machetes is a little curious. You and I may know that a zombie apocalypse is inevitable, but the cute girl behind you does not.  

Just be mindful of others. The Internet is teeming with things that you don’t want to see, that other people don’t want to see or that you don’t want other people to see you seeing–you’ll totally find them if you aren’t careful. Even some seemingly safe websites like Reddit, Facebook, Youtube and Pintrest can throw you a nice curve ball from time to time. As a general rule, posts marked NSFW are probably none too safe for class either. Use common sense, keep on your toes, try to avoid the shock photos on the Facebook news feed, and never, under any circumstances, Google image search “David Cameron side profile” in class. 

Photo courtesy of http://www.123rf.com/profile_wavebreakmediamicro