UW-Oshkosh Computer Science students took their application design from an idea to an actual application offered on both the Apple and Google app stores in their Computer Science 344 class during the fall 2025 semester.
First, you need to have an idea for an app. Creativity can make this stage hard to get through without struggles, but UWO Professor Michael Rogers provided curated app ideas he’s created based on feedback from UWO students and staff. Those students and staff also stepped in as the so-called clientele that groups had to meet with throughout development, which Rogers remained relatively hands off with.
“We worked equally close to all projects,” UWO student Damian Johnson said. “His aid consisted of demoing our projects every so often and him providing his personal feedback of things we could add, but ultimately left it up to us to meet with the client and make it the way they wanted.”
After you finish the development stage, it’s time to attempt to get your app published. And that can get complicated.
Johnson said he paid $99 to enroll in the Apple Developer Program for a group who created the Speak French app as well as a $25 fee for publishing and testing the app on the Google Play Store.
He acknowledged that Google on the surface seems like the better deal but it is more difficult for an app to survive testing.
“Finding a group of testers willing to test the app thoroughly is harder than it sounds,” Rogers said. “Google will reject the app if it appears that the testers are simple going through the motions.”
Meanwhile, Apple tested the group’s app in roughly two days. Apple supplied their own company testers instead of independents, which makes paying the annual $99 fee worth it in the eyes of Rogers.
Johnson’s group got their app published on both sites, and while the app was a success, he offered advice to students who aim to take the class in the future.
“Meet with your client often and really get into the design,” Johnson said. “As far as choosing a project, pick something you see benefit in. If you really like your project, it will be much easier to test and find what you want the app to be able to do.”
Despite numerous successful launches his fall 2025 class pulled off, Rogers still has plenty of untapped ideas for future projects.
“We had many more ideas than teams, so there’s a backlog of possibilities, and a few new ones have cropped up since I last made an appeal for suggestions,” Rogers said.
Johnson’s Learn French app is one of four developed applications going through the vigorous process of getting onto app stores. The other three are PlanIt, an app designed to publicize student organization events across UWO’s campus, Care Tracker and the Oshkosh Museum App.