The IMED system was designed to support and enhance current teaching methodology as well as provide an alternative to full time on-campus study. IMED environment allows students to meet with teachers in individual or group chat sessions, collaborate with other students, review course materials, lectures, and exercises at anytime of day or night. Teachers are able to perform online grading, provide instant feedback on students' work, post class materials on bulletin boards, and hold virtual office hours. In addition to providing a virtual meeting place for students and teachers, IMED is designed to also deliver course content.
Students can receive updated lesson plans and class materials by downloading from the class site.
In addition to written materials, videos of lectures are available online for those who are unable to attend class. IMED allows teachers to imbed various tools as part of course content. For instance, physics professors have included real-time interactive simulations to help clarify relationships between variables in complex systems. Simulations allow students to change variables and see in real time how the system change as a result of their input. By manipulating many variables and repeating the experiment, students can test and retest their own hypotheses.