Part 2: Transitioning to Oracle Redwood Learning Administration — Self Paced Learning

In Part 2, we go deeper — specifically into Self-Paced Learning, the first and most fundamental of those new autonomous objects introduced in 24D.

The “4-in-1” Revolution: Self-Paced Learning Item

In the Classic Experience, publishing a single piece of e-learning required navigating four separate creation steps:

1. Create a Content Item (to house the actual file)
2. Create a Course (to wrap it in a structure)
3. Create an Offering (to make it available)
4. Create an Activity (to be consumed by the end user)

Four steps. Four pages. Four chances to make a mistake.

The Redwood Self-Paced Learning Item collapses all four of those into a single, unified business object and workflow.

These items are also autonomous — they don’t require a parent Course to exist in the Catalog. You can deploy a Self-Paced item directly to learners without wrapping it in anything. If, however, you need to offer the same topic across multiple delivery methods (say, a live session and an e-learning), you can still group them under a Course — but that grouping is now optional, not mandatory.

Self-Paced Learning Item : Content Types Supported

Oracle Learning supports a wide range of digital formats for self-paced learning, which have been expanded and streamlined through the transition to the Redwood experience.

1. Online Content Standards

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Self-paced learning items support several industry-standard e-learning formats:

• SCORM: Specifically SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 (3rd edition) delivered as .zip files.
• AICC: Supported as both uploaded .zip files and via AICC URLs.
• Cmi5: Redwood now supports the upload of CMI5 .zip archive packages, which provide the tracking flexibility of xAPI within a guided SCORM-like structure.

2. Rich Media and Documents

• Video: Primarily .mp4 files using H.264/AVC encoding for native playback. For learner-generated content, additional formats such as .mov, .m4a, .m4v, .f4v, .f4a, .m4b, .m4r, and .f4b are supported.
• Documents: PDF files are supported directly.
• Presentations: Microsoft PowerPoint files (PPTX, PPSX, PPT, and PPS) can be uploaded directly as “Presentation” content, eliminating the need to convert them to PDF first.

3. Web-Based and Interactive Formats

• URL / Web Links: Allows for the integration of external websites or content hosted on other platforms.
• Questionnaires: Used to deploy Assessments (to test understanding) and Observation Checklists (for on-the-job training evaluation).
• Other Redwood Objects: The architecture also identifies support for Articles, Audio Books, Books, and Podcasts as distinct learning item types.

Self-Paced Learning Item: A Field-by-Field Tour

When you click “New Learning” in the Redwood Catalog, a streamlined creation panel opens. Along the right rail, you’ll find five tabs that organize every aspect of the item: Content, Details, Collaborators, Related Materials, and Additional Info.

Content

This is where the actual learning asset lives and how it should appear to the learner.

• Uploaded File Panel — Displays the uploaded file’s name, size, and last-updated date, with quick-action icons to download or delete the file. This is your confirmation that the right asset is attached.
• Learning Format — Auto-populated based on the file you upload. Options include Document, Video, Presentation, Online (SCORM/AICC/Cmi5), Web Link, and Questionnaire. This field drives how the item renders to learners in the player.
• Automatically Launch Content When Page Opens — A checkbox that, when enabled, immediately opens the asset the moment a learner lands on the item page — no extra click required.
• Embed Content Directly on the Page — Controls whether the content renders inline within the learning page itself versus launching in a separate viewer. If you’re unsure whether your content can resize and render dynamically in a browser, Oracle recommends leaving this unchecked.

Details

This tab is the metadata and administrative control center of the item.

• Learning Item Number — A system-generated unique identifier automatically assigned to every item. Use this for tracking, reporting, and integration references.
• Title — The learner-facing name of the course that appears in catalog search results, assignments, and the learning homepage.
• AI Assist — A button that automatically generates the Summary and Description fields based on the item’s title and any keywords you provide. No more staring at a blank text box — this saves meaningful admin time, especially when building large catalogs.
• Summary — A short, 250-character teaser shown on catalog tiles and search results. The “elevator pitch” for your course.
• Description — A rich-text field supporting up to 4,000 characters, complete with formatting controls (bold, italic, underline, bullet lists, hyperlinks). This is the full course overview learners read on the item’s detail page before enrolling.
• Catalog Administration Profile — Assigns the item to a specific admin profile, scoping who can view and edit it by department, region, or subject area. This replaces the old SQL-based data security policies entirely.
• Notification Pattern — Determines which automated notifications (enrollment confirmation, completion, reminders) fire for learners on this specific item.
• Instruction Languages — A multi-select tag field identifying which languages the content is delivered in, supporting multilingual catalog filtering.
• Expected Effort in Hours / Minutes — Sets the estimated time commitment displayed to learners before they begin — helping them plan their learning.
• Catalog Visibility Start Date / End Date — Defines the exact window during which the item is searchable and visible in the catalog. Outside this window, it disappears automatically.
• Featured Start Date / End Date — Controls when and for how long the item is promoted in featured sections or carousels on the learning homepage.
• Cover Art — A drag-and-drop upload for the thumbnail image that represents the course on catalog tiles. A strong cover image dramatically increases click-through rates.
• Trailer — A drag-and-drop upload for an optional short preview video, shown on the item’s detail page to give learners a taste of the content before committing.

Collaborators

This tab captures the people responsible for producing and maintaining the content.

• Author — A search-and-select field for tagging the person who wrote or created the content.
• Instructor — A search-and-select field for tagging the subject-matter expert or instructor of record associated with the material.
• Coordinator — Identifies who administratively manages the item and handles learner questions or content updates.
• Publisher — The organization or person responsible for formally publishing the item. Note: this is the one required field in the Collaborators tab — every Self-Paced item must have a Publisher assigned.

Related Materials

This tab lets administrators attach supporting resources alongside the core content.

• Visible To — A dropdown controlling who can see the attached materials. Options such as “Administrators only/Administrators and enrolees/Everyone” let you keep internal documents like answer keys or facilitator guides hidden from learners.
• Drag and Drop Upload — Attach supplementary files directly to the item — job aids, slide handouts, quick-reference cards, or any supporting document learners might need alongside the main content.
• URL / Add URL — Link out to external resources instead of uploading a file. Useful for pointing learners to a knowledge base article, a product page, or any external tool relevant to the training.

Additional Info

This tab powers search, filtering, and reporting through taxonomy and classification metadata.

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• Business Driver — Tags the strategic reason the training exists — compliance, onboarding, upskilling, transformation, or others defined by your organization.
• Learning Level — Classifies the content by proficiency (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced), helping learners and managers find appropriately pitched content.
• Topic — Categorizes the item by subject matter, directly improving discoverability in catalog search and filter panels.

Summary

In this article, we covered:

• Why Classic Experience e-learning publishing required four separate steps (Content Item > Course > Offering > Activity) — and how Redwood’s Self-Paced Learning Item collapses all four into a single autonomous object that can be deployed directly to learners without a parent Course.
• The expanded range of content types Self-Paced items support — from e-learning standards like SCORM, AICC, and Cmi5, to rich media, PowerPoint presentations, URLs, and Questionnaires for assessments and observation checklists.
• A field-by-field tour of the five tabs in the creation panel — Content (file upload and display settings), Details (metadata, AI Assist, catalog visibility windows), Collaborators (Author, Instructor, Coordinator, and the required Publisher field), Related Materials (supplementary attachments with visibility controls), and Additional Info (Business Driver, Learning Level, and Topic taxonomy for search and discoverability).

This wraps up the deep dive into Self-Paced Learning — the first and most fundamental of Redwood’s new autonomous learning objects. 🚀

Stay Tuned for Part 3: Transitioning to Oracle Redwood Learning Administration —Learning Events

References

1. https://community.oracle.com/customerconnect/discussion/925051/oracle-learning-administration-transition-to-redwood-series#latest
2. https://community.oracle.com/customerconnect/discussion/870667/learning-administration-redwood-update#latest
3. https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/readiness/hcm/25b/lear-25b/25B-learning-wn-f37429.htm#Key-Resources
4. https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/readiness/hcm/25b/lear-25b/25B-learning-wn-f37377.htm