Students at PS 33 in Queens Village beta tested a new online game featuring New York City landmarks and geography on May 20. With the introduction of its new mascot, Emblem the Wellness Dog, EmblemHealth saw an opportunity to create an interactive online tool to engage students and test their knowledge of the five boroughs, their waterways and landmarks. Fourth-graders played the game as a group on a smartboard, led by their teacher, while the 5th-graders played individually in the school’s computer lab. “The children were really engaged and had a good time. Some printed out locations they’d never heard of before” to visit later, said Chapter Leader Kristian Lisowski, a social studies teacher at the school. The point was to see how child- and teacher-friendly the game is and to suggest changes if needed. One of the students found a coding error, Lisowski said, and others had suggestions for improvements. Carmela Credle, the 4th-grade teacher, said students enjoyed the bells and whistles. “The program encourages kids: When they get the right answer, bright lights come on, the heavens open and it’s wonderful!” she said. An eyeopener for students was the fact that Queens and Brooklyn are actually on Long Island. The testing came out of “a long-standing partnership with EmblemHealth,” said UFT Vice President for Elementary Schools Karen Alford, who was at PS 33 for the day and helped to set up the pilot.