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Chad Pregracke is definitely not shying away from getting his hands dirty in the name of water conservation. Since he was 17 years old, Chad has been cleaning up trash in the Mississippi River-which happens to be his backyard-singlehandedly at first when no one seemed to care. He is living proof of the adage "leading by example." A teenager on a mission to clean up the second longest river in the United States sure makes Chad different-in a good way. After founding Living Lands & Waters Foundation, Chad has never slowed down his barge. To read more about Chad Pregracke visit www.thextraordinary.org

Not many people would have the audacity to leave the comforts of their office and relegate themselves to doing field work so an endangered species does not go extinct. Dyan deNapoli is driven by so much love for penguins that she christened herself The Penguin Lady. She founded her educational business after leaving the New England Aquarium. As its Senior Penguin Aquarist for over 7 years, Dyan's experience equipped her with impeccable know-how on how to care and help penguins thrive. Her book "The Great Penguin Rescue" has earned the accolades of award-giving bodies. What saving 40,000 penguins could do! To read more about Dyan deNapoli visit www.thextraordinary.org

Fabien Cousteau is an aquanaut, just like his grandfather and father. But more than just exploring the oceans to unlock its mystery, Fabien dove the extra mile by launching his Plant A Fish organization. It aims to educate the youth about the importance of protecting our waters and as its name suggests, inspire them to do their share of creating a sustainable habitat for fishing. To honor his late grandfather's 100th birthday, he directs Mission 31. He and his research team will stay under the Florida Keys for 31 days to thoroughly study the current state of our waters. To read more about Fabien Cousteau visit www.thextraordinary.org.

Mike Archer is a paleontologist most known for his involvement in the Riversleigh fossil site in Queensland where over 40,000 specimens of 300 species were derived. Needless to say, it provided a big chunk of the puzzle of Australian fauna history. Apart from his active participation in fossil exploration, Mike is also the lead scientist of the Lazarus Project and has headed an experiment to bring back the extinct Thylacine, or what we now know as the Tasmanian Tiger. His finds have given him numerous accolades including Fellowship in prestigious organizations and becoming a Member of the Order of Australia. To read more about Mike Archer visit www.thextraordinary.org

Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiya is faced with a daunting task-he needs to make sure that Qatar is able to become self-sufficient by 2030, the year Qatar's National Vision would be realized. It's daunting since his country, the richest among all other countries because of their gas revenue, only has 74mm of precipitation of rain annually. It is one of the Earth's driest spots. So, they survive by importing 93% of their food and desalinating almost 100% of their water. As chairman of the National Food Security Programme, he is tasked to make their desert of a country a garden. To read more about Fahad Al-Attiya visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet the extraordinary Withelma Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, or "T" as she is more popularly known. A children and women's rights activist most known for her courageous retelling of her teenage life when she was sexually exploited as well as her fight against child and women sex trafficking. "I am still endeavoring to TRULY understand that I am not a slave, and neither man nor money validates my worth." To read more about Withelma Ortiz Walker Pettigrew visit www.thextraordinary.org/withelma-t-ortiz-walker-pettigrew

James Beshara has always believed in the power of doing things together, and this is evidenced by his two most popular creations - dvelo.org and crowdtilt.com. And if you think that these two websites are like fundraiser sites such as eventbrite.org and paypal.com, then the main difference is instead of having a single person charge everyone so that they could achieve a goal, crowdtilt.com enables everyone to pool in their resources to achieve a common goal, no matter how big or small it may be. To read more about James Beshara visit www.thextraordinary.org

"We've discovered a seemingly endless collection of smartphone apps that teachers can put to work in the classroom and beyond, creating a powerhouse of back-to-school mobile tools. Read on to discover 50 of the best smartphone apps for teachers, and share any personal favorites we've missed in the comments."

Meet the extraordinary founder and editor in chief of China Digital Times and an internet activist who promotes the freedom of information, Xiao Qiang. An international Chinese news website that publishes more than one hundred articles and posts including those that are being suppressed and blocked by the digital censors in China's cyberspace. "That ultimate spirit of freedom will last longer than the strength of tanks and machine guns". To read more about Xiao Qiang visit www.thextraordinary.org

Mata Amritanandamayi is known all over the world as the "hugging saint." She is called by her disciples and followers as "Amma" or Mother in English. Since the beginning of her spiritual vocation, Mata is believed to have hugged a total of 37 million people coming from all walks of life. She is regarded as one of the most revered spiritual figures by Hindus and other denominations. Coming from a very poor family, her devotion to her faith enabled her to help the needy by inspiring organizations to put up hospitals and schools. Read more about Mata Amritanandamayi visit www.thextraordinary.org

"The LitTunes strategy, which directs students to make connections from their reading to their music, is one I define by the term Musical Intertextuality (2009)."

One of my roles is to serve as the Network Coordinator and help facilitate the Internet filtering. Well, educators are awesome at finding value in tools that others may see as "entertainment". In this case, YouTube does provide a wealth of education resources and this list just touches on a few. Thanks to EdTechReview for compiling this list. Those of you reading my share please add any additional channels that are beneficial to educators in their comments feed.

Meet the extraordinary Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the largest Christian community in Israel, Elias Michael Chacour. Most famous for his work in uniting Israelites and Arabs. He is also the founder of the Mar Elias High School. "We want to live in the present time doing our task and preparing a future, not alone - but, rather, Jews and Palestinians together". To read more about Elias Chacour visit www.thextraordinary.org

Meet winner our Spring 2015 GMR Transcription scholarship - Alex Nielson. Read his story and what inspires him to become an inventor.

"Zoom In is a free web-based platform that helps students build literacy and historical thinking skills through "deep dives" into primary and secondary sources. Choose from 18 content-rich US history units designed to supplement your regular instruction and help students practice skills required by the new, higher standards: reading documents closely and critically, identifying point of view and purpose, engaging in text-based discussions, and writing explanatory and argumentative essays grounded in evidence."

The federal education program appropriated funds "based on good test scores in math, science, and reading," she said, but it did not distribute money for history or civics. O¹Connor¹s new web site aims to right that wrong. Launched on May 24, iCivics.org is a rebranded, expanded version of an earlier site called OurCourts.org. "Barely one-third of Americans can even name the three branches of government, much less say what they do," O'Connor said. "… I'm worried." Games on iCivics include "Do I Have A Right," in which the player runs a virtual firm specializing in constitutional law; "Executive Command," which offers a chance to play president; "Supreme Decision," about the Supreme Court; "Branches of Power," which gives the player control of all three branches of government; and "LawCraft," in which the player is a member of Congress. The iCivics program is based at Georgetown University Law School. O'Connor is the project founder and leads the board of the nonprofit iCivics Inc., iCivics spokesman Jeffrey Curley said. The project began in 2007 and is in use at schools around the country.

Here are five tips on how to stay depressed and anxious. This is a major step forward in recovery and is being able to identify which behaviors are maintaining the illness. Read more tips at moxie mental health.