When listing what they are looking for in a job candidate, most schools either require or "strongly prefer" adjunct instructors with Learning Management System (LMS) experience. Some schools specify which LMS they want their candidates to have experience in, others don't, simply wanting their adjuncts to be savvy across the board. Because this requirement is so ubiquitous, it points to the need to fill this hole if there is one on your CV/resume. But if you are going to invest time and money in LMS training, where should you start? Providing an answer to this question, ELearningIndustry.com lists the three most popular LMSs used in academia today:

1. Moodle - 73.8 Million Users
2. Edmodo - 20 Million Users

3. Blackboard - 20 Million Users

   ELearningIndustry.com also ranks LMSs by number of customers, which they describe as a better statistic since it suggests good customer loyalty and and better business practices: 1. Edmodo - 120,000 customers

4. Moodle - 87,000 customers

5. Collaborize Classroom - 48,000 customers

   In my anecdotal experience as a finder and post-er of online job opportunities, I find that Moodle and Blackboard top the list of LMSs that schools are requiring experience in. So, when looking to strengthen your resume for the online teaching market, it makes sense to acquire experience in one or more of these popular LMSs. My advice to adjuncts wanting to gain LMS experience is to do one or all of three things: - Take online classes yourself that use various LMS technology.

   • Find online trainings for specific LMSs (there are a lot of these available. Moodle, an open-source platform, even offers a lot of free online trainings!).
   • Make a connection (via LinkedIn or our AdjunctWorld community) with an instructor who uses the LMS you are interested in learning more about and pick his/her brain about the software and how to learn more about it.

   I also like to tell adjuncts that having been an online student is often considered online or “LMS” experience as well. Some of the schools I review will write, “Online teaching experience or experience as an online learner preferred/required.” Being an online student is in some ways as valuable or close to as valuable as having been an online teacher before. Additionally, most all face-to-face classrooms these days have some LMS component, whether it’s for turning in papers or posting grades. This counts as some experience even if the class wasn’t completely online. Have you specifically sought LMS training? How have you gotten LMS experience to include in your online teaching resume? Please share and comment below!