I am a learner. My facilitator has instructed me to log in. I go to some web page (e.g. tels.berkeley.edu) and click on the "Learner Login" link. It loads a Java applet that is configured to find my nearest host (e.g. teacher's computer) and connect me to a Learner Portal served from that host.
There, I authenticate myself.
I then see the units that I'm set to participate in, my past work, feedback from the teacher, etc. This is how I get to everything I can get to.
From here, I can also give feedback to the developers and report problems.
If I click to work in the unit, the VLE loads automatically and I'm in it.
Where can I get the bootstrap from? (CD-ROM, web page, installed app)
What is the portal like? (a web portal like My Yahoo)