CARBONDALE - For Southern Illinois University Carbondale sophomore Danielle Williamson, education shouldn't just be about grades.

A unique digital video that Williamson and classmates Nicholas Nylan and Jonathan P. Klemke are directing provides them the opportunity to not only learn about video and film production, but to also focus on global issues, technology, and cross-cultural collaborations.

Klemke, Nylan and Williamson - all sophomores majoring in cinema and photography - are collaborating with students from Xavier Institute of Communications in Mumbai, India, on videos they will share with one another. Both groups are working on separate films, and they will send those to one another. Next semester, each group will add to the film's storylines.

The three students are working on the independent study project with Jyotsna Kapur, an associate professor in cinema and photography. Klemke, Nylan and Williamson asked Kapur to teach a class in Indian cinema, and are utilizing many of the cinematic styles used in India in the production. There were no strict parameters on the film. The SIUC students chose to focus on love and religion, while the Xavier Institute students are focusing on terrorism and living alone in a large city, Kapur said.

Shooting recently finished at various sites on campus and in Carbondale. Klemke, Nylan and Williamson are now editing approximately 100 minutes of video into a 10- to 12-minute segment. They expect the film to be finished by the end of the semester.

The SIUC film centers on the story of an Indian gentleman who works in an American call center for a corporate printing firm. He learns his job is being outsourced overseas to, of all places, India. While other employees accept incentive packages to leave, the man resists. He calls the company's help line and talks with a woman in India who inspires him to continue the fight.

The cast and crew include approximately 30 people, including students and faculty.

The three students were thinking of this kind of project since they were freshmen. They opted to pursue the collaboration even without grant funding, Kapur said.

The project "combines theory and practice in a totally wonderful way," Kapur said. The project has received a great deal of help from faculty, including cinema and photography chair Deborah Tudor, graduate assistant Youseef Osman, and assistant professor emeritus Michael Covell, Kapur said.

The project affords the students numerous real-world applications. Filmmakers throughout the world collaborate and send footage to each other.

The project is also rewarding because it allows her to know her students' creativity, apart from a classroom setting.

"It's fascinating," Kapur said. "They have picked up the whole style of writing dialogue and choreographing. That has been very interesting."

Williamson, the daughter of Mary and Wayne Williamson of Roscoe, formerly of Rockton, said she appreciates the "great opportunity" she is experiencing.

"I've felt that ever since I've been down here my experiences with my peers and professors have been on a close, personal level rather than I'm just a number in the crowd," she said.

"We are not being treated as children; we're not being treated as students who have to jump through the hoops to get a diploma," Williamson said. "We are doing this to learn about each other and learn about ourselves. I think that's what education really should be about - instead of just trying to get the 'A'. That's why I really like this project. It's not about trying to achieve a grade - we are actually learning because we want to."

All three agree that the project is a learning experience.

"I don't think any of us has put together a film of this scale with this many actors and this many crew," said Nylan, who is from South Holland.

"Or, if we have, it definitely hasn't turned out this good before because I can say I am really, really proud of the way this is shaping up," said Klemke, the son of John and Margaret Klemke of Glenview-Wilmette.

Tudor, the department chair, said the project is exciting because it combines cinema production, global awareness, and the usage of digital communication technologies.

"It's a remarkable effort by young students - sophomores - working on their own time with some of our dedicated faculty to create a progressive, unique project," she said.

"The value to our college community is immense; this project is providing global awareness of socioeconomic issues while giving students a change to collaborate with overseas colleagues," Tudor said. "It's an extraordinary learning experience for them. This is the kind of thing we do very well here - creating a vital learning community that cuts across traditional boundaries."

Online learning and projects "like this that share across continents and cultures will be an important part of the future of education at SIUC," said Gary P. Kolb, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts.

"Whether it is in formal degree programs or just to enrich our academic lives in individual or small group endeavors, these uses of technology will keep us at the forefront of communications education," Kolb said. "I'm very proud of Professor Kapur and the students involved for taking the initiative to make this possible."