[NFBCS] Accessibility of PacketTracer

Tue Sep 15 15:53:17 UTC 2026

I think Cisco is a horrible company to work with. I dropped out of a cyber
security program because I couldn't get Packet Tracer to work at all. Their
voluntary product accessibility template is a joke. People from the school I
was attending scheduled a meeting with Cisco and me to discuss my concerns.
Cisco indicated they used to have a blind accessibility tester but that they
no longer have people with disabilities testing their software. I presented
my objections to this and the people from Cisco asked me what it was worth
it to them to have people with disabilities test their software. I tried to
calmly explain what accessibility testing is and the importance of including
people with disabilities at every stage of product development. I tried
being persuasive and they were tone-deaf. The meeting turned ugly and I
yelled at them. No doubt it was an embarrassment for them considering they
had members of an international accessibility team in the meeting. Cisco
essentially accused me of not learning or using their keyboard commands.
They said in so many words that I was a liar.

I hate burning bridges with a software company but my patience was wearing
thin. There is a cyber security program hosted by National Industries for
the Blind that works with Cisco. I don't see any documentation anywhere
about how they work with Packet Tracer. There may be other software
applications your student can use but I'm not familiar with them. I hate
being so harsh in an e-mail but enough is enough.

Dan

From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Cook, Avery B via NFBCS
Sent: Tuesday, September 15, 2026 9:50 AM
To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
Cc: Cook, Avery B <avery.cook at sctcc.edu>
Subject: [NFBCS] Accessibility of PacketTracer

Good Morning al! 

I hope this email finds your week going well! I am the Accessibility
Services Coordinator at St. Cloud Technical & Community College and I am
working with a student who is blind and has started in our Cybersecurity
program this semester. 

I was hoping to reach out to this amazing brain trust of professionals to
see if anyone has any experience working with a software called PacketTracer
through Cisco. The student has been having trouble with their screenreader
using this software. The folks at Cisco have assured us that things are
fully accessible, but we are still finding hiccups. 

In summary, the instructions in PacketTracer work with the student's screen
reader but the command line window to configure in PacketTracer is full not
working with the screen reader. 

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to best support this student? 

Thank you for your time! 

AC

Avery Cook, M.S.

Accessibility Services Coordinator | SCTCC Women's Club Staff Advisor 

St. Cloud Technical & Community College

1540 Northway Drive, St Cloud, MN 56303-1240-

320.308.5064 |   <mailto:avery.cook at sctcc.edu> avery.cook at sctcc.edu |
<https://www.sctcc.edu/accessibility-services>
sctcc.edu/accessibility-services

 <https://sctcc.edu/accessibility-scheduling> Click Here to Book an
Appointment

Pronouns: She | Her | Hers

TRULY HUMAN NOTICE:  Getting this email out of typical working hours? The
ways in which we work have changed. Everyone processes information in
different ways and often at different times than what we think of as
typical. We now often work at a digitally-enabled relentless pace, which can
disrupt our ability to sleep enough, eat right, exercise, and spend time
with the people that matter most. I am sending you this email at a time that
works for me. I only expect you to respond to it when convenient to you.

St. Cloud Technical & Community College Mission: We provide the education,
training, and support necessary for equitable participation in our society,
economy, and democracy.

**Confidentiality Notice: The information included in this e-mail is
intended only for the recipient to whom it is addressed. The message and any
attachments may contain confidential information. Any transmission or
disclosure of the information by persons other than the intended recipient
is prohibited. If you received this information in error, please contact the
sender and delete the information immediately.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260915/ceb94bdb/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 41489 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260915/ceb94bdb/attachment.jpg>