What's On Daniel Goble's Desk?

Daniel Goble likes to do things on the cutting edge.

The San Diego State University exercise and nutritional sciences associate professor teaches multiple courses on human movement, neuroscience and the use of motor skills for enhanced performance. Goble has taken up a unique and provocative set of methods to illustrate these concepts in the classroom. One example of his unique teaching style is showing sports highlights to his students at the beginning of each class. This allows students to visualize movement as opposed to reading about it in a textbook.

But that is not all. Goble has taken to one of his favorite social media platforms, Twitter, to engage with students and receive feedback during classes. He also uses the popular social media platform as a unique tool for test preparation. Before exams, Goble asks his students to post multiple choice questions on Twitter. The questions not only serve as a study guide for students, but Goble also selects some of them for the actual exam.

“Most professors say: put your phones and and computers away," Goble said. "I’m the opposite. I want students to engage in the class. I think today’s students need that stimulation."

But the classroom is not the only place Goble thinks outside of the box. Since coming to SDSU in 2012, Goble has been researching low cost alternatives for movement data. He has developed a new balance testing tool called BTrackS to improve concussion diagnosis.

Fast forward

Goble has since taken his work to the next level. With help from SDSU’s College of Engineering and the Zahn Innovation Platform Launchpad, Goble was able to develop his own medical device company called Balance Tracking Systems, which allows athletics trainers to more accurately and objectively diagnose concussions on the sidelines during a game. Goble is able to offer his device at a fraction of the cost of other force plates on the market.

“As an undergrad, I considered both kinesiology and business as a major,” Goble said. “I chose kinesiology, but now business has chosen me.”

A view of Goble’s desk offers a family photo, postcards from numerous art museums, a full cup of coffee, and two computer screens.

“Double screen is very important to me,” Goble said. “I usually have my email open on one screen and am working on the other.”

Here’s a look at some special items in Goble's space.

1. Cover Drawing: "I drew that picture for a publication in Belgium. The brain is from a study I ran where we looked at young and older adults and the parts of the brain that differ when they do bi-manual movements. The Belgian publication asks people whose work will be featured in the upcoming issue if they want to design the front cover. So I just created this image and sent it to them, and they loved it and put it on the cover.”

2. Postcards: "These postcards are my throwback to my time as a Ph.D student. In my Ph.D. program, my advisor was very concerned about me because I was only interested in sports and going out with my friends. She really made an effort to broaden my horizons. I was taking my girlfriend, now wife, to Chicago and my advisor told me to go to the art museum. So I went and fell in love with impressionist art. I bought a few postcards to prove to her that I went to the museum. Then when we moved to Europe, we were surrounded with amazing art. The collection of postcards shows my favorite art from museums in Europe and the United States.”

4. Family photo: "This picture was taken right before football season last year. When my daughter was born, someone bought her a Michigan Wolverines cheerleading outfit. She was about to grow out of it, so we decided to take photos quickly before the outfit didn't fit her anymore. We used the picture for our Christmas cards.”