As a recent grad o f the University of Phoenix I had to attend many meeting like classes for four hours. I had to be there just like at work. When there was no wifi I was using my laptop to pass time, or work on papers that were due in that class. I'm an auditory learner, so it was not a problem; one thing that you have to take into account is the learning style of the individual meeting participants. I admit I played hours of Tetris under the table on my palm pilot. After wifi I admit that I read a lot of news on my laptop, but it was awesome to fact check information using search engines. As for large meetings with 30 people 1. It is a waste of time only the strong voices will be heard and 2. It is a power trip, look how many people I can force to attend this meeting.