Inquisitive Chatter Becomes Quiet Concentration

Let me start by saying how very much I love, love, LOVE technology in my classroom! I am in a school now where I have access to 1:1 MacBooks or 1:1 iPads most days and it's nothing short of amazing. The transition from PC to Mac was a little tough at first, but I'm in love. 

At the beginning of the semester, my Block 1 Language Arts class began reading the novel "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin. We are also creating Weebly sites that include chapter summaries, descriptions of the setting, character descriptions, and a detective's notebook. Students are LOVING it!

Today we added in a Voki description of one character from the book. This is the first time I have used Voki in a couple years, but it's still as great as it was when I first discovered it. :) When students first logged in and started exploring, the classroom was a buzz with amazing inquisitive chatter. They were showing each other different things you can do with it and laughing at some of the various options. Then, the class fell silent. Everyone was engaged creating their character Voki. What an amazing feeling as a teacher! I can't wait to get on and listen to everything they have created! 

Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) Development u01a1

After reading Topics C and D and viewing the websites, I feel I am starting to get a small grasp on IBL. Inquiry based learning starts with a question and a desire to learn more about a topic. For example, a question of what happened to Amelia Earhart leads to discovery of primary sources and opinions of what really happened to her and her navigator. A spark of interest and intrigue can catch students attention and reel them in. A question becomes an investigation which leads to discovery and a creation. I've also learned that a key part of IBL is reflection. Reflecting on what worked and what didn't is important in making the next IBL lesson a success. 

One thing I'm still not understanding is how is IBL different from PBL. Inquiry based learning and problem based learning seem very similar to me, but I have a feeling they are very different. Can anyone give me some insight on the difference between the two?