Students of all skills, backgrounds work on making ideas reality

Making phones and tablets more efficient, the Oregon State University App Club is making apps that aimed towards making life easier for college students.

Every week the club shares their plans for how they can make improvements on what they have already made, and how they can make their ideas a reality.

Current President of the App Club, Rutger Farry, has had a hand in arranging a laid back experience within the club, making sure that members find their fit.

“Students come with ideas, and varying ranges of experience,” Farry said.

One of the more successful apps the club has made is the Corvallis Bus app, according to Rikki Gibson, a member of the club.

“I started working on apps for the Corvallis bus system in the summer of 2014,” Gibson said. “I put it out (on iOS) around finals during fall term of 2014.

The iOS app for the Corvallis bus system has over a 1,000 downloads and over 125 daily users. The bus app helps people navigate the transit system by providing an updated list of arrivals and departures.

“I’ve put in probably a few thousand lines of code,” Gibson said.

More recently, the iOS application was followed up by an Android app and a web app.

A handful of students helped to make the app as successful as it is, but even with all the current traffic on the app, it can be hard to make money in the app world, according to Gibson.

“The main idea is to be able to show a prospective employer that I’ve got some initiative,” Gibson said. She is currently losing money on the app.

Making apps that get students around Corvallis is not all the club does. The OSU App Club is working on apps that can be used outside Corvallis. Other apps the club has had a hand in is a moon phase app and an App Club app.

Saha Ghafouri, OSU App club member, is currently pushing for a flashcard app to help students study across the U.S., and beyond. The app would allow students to create and share flashcards, while users collect ad revenue for what they create. It is still in the planning stage, but it could change how many students study, Ghafouri said.

“What we want to do is pay you to learn,” Ghafouri said, about the app. “Students that are building these cards are going to be doing it anyway. Why not do it on our platform?”

Most of the members are computer science majors, but the App club welcomes all students, no matter their major.

Early this spring term, the club is hosting an event to help get people started on making their first app, some of them may even make it up on the iOS app store, according to Farry.

Farry said the club is open to anyone who is interested in making an app, and there will be plenty of help for first timers.

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