The Oculus Quest 2 is a virtual reality headset created by the brand Oculus, which is owned by Facebook. Users wear a headset which immerses them in a 360-degree digital world. You interact with and navigate this world using a left and a right hand controller, which both have buttons that allow you to make selections and interact with on screen objects. Moving your head and turning your body changes your orientation within the digital world.
What kinds of things can I do on the Oculus Quest 2?
The Oculus Quest 2 has many different experience options! Users can play games, solve puzzles, exercise, play music, watch movies, travel to locations all over the world, learn different languages, and more! Our focus with the Oculus is implementing it in conjunction with the Mindscape Commons database so that our counseling students can gain entry-level experience for what counseling situations will feel like, but in a controlled, safe environment. Check out the Oculus blog post "What Is Virtual Reality All About?" for some more information on VR and the Oculus Quest 2.
Is it safe?
Stepping into a virtual reality environment for the first time can be both mesmerizing and a bit overwhelming. There are two aspects to safety to be aware of when using the Oculus.
1. Pay attention for feelings of dizziness or disorientation. If you feel dizzy or disoriented at any point of your VR experience, say so immediately and take off the headset. We have furnished the VR room with a comfortable couch if you prefer sitting; this can help reduce the dizziness that some users experience when wearing the headset.
2. Stay within the preset boundaries of the VR environment. When you are nearing the edge of a boundary in the headset, blue gridlines will appear in your field of vision. The closer you get, the gridlines will turn to red, and then the VR environment disappears when you move outside the grid-lined boundary. Paying attention to the boundary is important because we have made sure that the boundary area provides a clear, safe place to move and work with the headset on. Simply move the opposite direction until the grid lines disappear, and you will remain in the boundary.
Can other people see what I see in VR? Yes! We have a way you can stream your VR view to the TV mounted on the wall in the adjacent study room. Unfortunately there is currently an issue with the Oculus device itself preventing Mindscape Commons from streaming to the TV, but we are able to stream other types of videos, games, and content from other providers. We currently have a support ticket in with both Mindscape and Oculus to troubleshoot this issue. For downloadable, printable instructions for casting from the Oculus to our TV, click the link for the PDF below.
A downloadable, printable, step-by-step guide for connecting our Oculus Quest 2 to the TV via Casting to an ATS Library laptop computer.
Mindscape Commons + Uptale app
Mindscape Commons + Uptale App
In order to load videos for use into the Oculus Quest 2, Coherent Digital needs an app to host their content. They are currently using an app called Uptale, which we have already loaded and configured in our Oculus headset. If a video in the Mindscape Commons database has a "Watch in HMD" button to the right of the video, it is able to be viewed in full VR mode in the Oculus. These videos include many of the microcases and example sessions that are most helpful for our Introduction to Clinical Mental Health Counseling students. Follow the directions below for step-by-step instructions detailing how to load a video within the Oculus using this app.
