The University of Wisconsin-Madison is wading into the wide world of MOOCs.

MOOCs stands for Massive Open Online Courses. The classes are broadcast via the web to thousands of people, potentially across the world, usually for free, and typically not for credit.

UW-Madison and 28 other universities are partnering with the online learning company Coursera to offer courses. Jeff Russell is Vice Provost for Lifelong Learning and Dean of Continuing Studies.

"We're really excited to get started on this. We view it as putting our toe in the water. We believe that when you look at the other peer group of other schools that are involved in the consortium, they really provide an opportunity for us to learn."

UW-Madison will pilot four courses, with two beginning in the fall. If successful, the university may offer up to six additional MOOCs next year.

UW-LaCrosse is already piloting one MOOC.