Cognitive load is the portion of the memory that remembers and processes new information on short time scales (“short term working memory”). It has very limited capacity.
Many studies have shown that anything that adds demands on working memory (“cognitive load”) that is not essential for the desired learning will reduce that learning (Meyer and Moreno 2003, Mayer et al. 2008). Thus everything presented to the learner has a cost. A great way to lessen this issue is by chunking content.
Content Chunking
Content chunking is the strategy of breaking up content into shorter, bite-sized pieces that are more manageable and easier to remember. We highly recommend this technique in online learning.
There are many ways to chunk content in eCourseware. Most instructors do this almost instinctively by dividing materials into topic and subtopic modules or by dividing one long video into several shorter videos. 
Chunking Using Release Conditions
When you are comfortable with these chunking techniques, you are ready to try chunking content using release conditions. Release Conditions allow you to restrict who can access course materials or complete activities based upon customized criteria. The most simple release conditions to set in eCourseware are those based upon date.
Watch this video to see how release conditions, both simple and advanced, can help you chunk content and maintain cognitive load in eCourseware.
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