I know this is a very broadly scoped question, but what do I need to know to begin creating a branded, custom IDE for course-ware using the VS Shell in isolated mode. Very little useful info on this beast is available through searches, so I'm hoping for some tips and references from gurus that have been through the apparently difficult exercise of using this foundation.
You can start over here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vsx/default.aspx